Westview Church Podcast: Recent Episodes
Westview Church
Westview Church is about following Christ in all of life. Subscribe to this feed as we discuss how that mission plays out in a different aspect of life through our exhortations, sermons, and conversational episodes. Learn more about us at westviewchurchmn.com.
What parent would celebrate the benchmark of potty training and be content for their child to stay at that level of maturity? Neither is the Lord satisfied until we are fully mature in Christ. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation to be satisfied with full maturity.
Living with purpose and significance will undermine both the disillusionment of lesser "gospels" and the boredom of a ho-hum Christianity. That is, if purpose and significance is found in doing all for the gospel. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 for more.
Our culture is beholden to "rights"—voting rights, animal rights, civil rights, women's rights, human rights. We clamor and vie for our rights. But what if there was something more important than rights? Something that would make "my rights" diminish, being eclipsed by something greater? Listen to Pastor David's sermon on 1 Corinthians 9:15-18 to see why the Apostle Paul has been so eager to establish rights, what reward he seeks, and what we ought to learn from his example.
The coffee in your cup is quite the story. It takes scores of people and industries to get the handful of seeds from Kenya all the way to being brewed in your cup. When we gather for public worship, there similarly are many people and processes involved. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation to make Sunday like coffee and consider one another unto love and good works.
The end goal of our exhortations is not conviction but transformation. We want not merely feel remorse but holiness. That change needs to come to our speech as well. Do you relish the denigration of a person's character? Do you share derogetory information about someone in a tone of confidentiality? Listen to Pastor David's exhortation to lay aside gossip for more.
You have probably made a poor decision if you hear the words, "You have the right to remain silent." It would be wise to make use of that right, but is there ever a time it is good to forgo your rights? If it means not putting an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ, yes! Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Corinthians 9:1-14 for more.
What is the one practice in the Christian life where if you did it, it would have the single greatest impact on your walk with Christ? What is it? What is the one thing whereby if you devoted yourself to it, this one thing would have the most outsized impact on your progress in holiness? J.C. Ryle says it is the habit of diligent private prayer. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation to pray in private for more.
This year the kids in our Discipleship Classes will be memorizing Romans 8. Will you join them in committing to memory longer sections of God's Word? Having a storehouse of verses to meditate on is good but how much richer to have an entire chapter to chew on to get the full context and import that a verse cannot convey. Listen to Pastor David's exhortation for more.
"Hear O Israel, the LORD your God, the LORD is one." That is the central confession of the Old Testament, found in Deuteronomy 6:4, that undergirds and gives rise to the only right response, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." And it is what Paul has in mind as he turns to address another church problem by reframing the problem and giving a reorienting principle. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Corinthians 8:1-6 for more.
It seems like wherever you make a commercial interaction, it must be followed up by some review, evaluation, survey, response to provide feedback. But this isn't just an attribute of businesses, we all do it. We all look for approval and affirmation. We all look for praise. How can we get out from under the controlling force of others' opinions? Seek praise to stop seeking praise. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
We are all on a persistent quest for what is new. There is an allure to it that summons us. It's a desire that goes back millennia. And it is one we see spoken to in Psalm 96 as the psalmist draws attention to God's new plan: to judge in righteousness. And the right response to this new plan is to sing, acknowledge, and rejoice. Listen to Jon Hoglund, Associate Professor of Theology & Global Studies at Bethlehem College & Seminary, as he declares from Psalm 96 that the LORD reigns.
"Daddy, be close!" The plea of a child for the presence of her father is a call for comfort. Is that not what should be our plea to our Father in Heaven? And yet so often we clamor for comfort from a couch, YouTube, food, drink—where do you turn by impulse for comfort? Listen to Eric Simpson's exhortation to seek God's presence for more.
Stargazing is an awe-inspiring activity but one that requires a fixed starting point. The constellations we are familiar with in the northern hemisphere would not be visible in the southern hemisphere or from another point in space. Similarly, seeing Scripture rightly requires a fixed starting point: Jesus Christ. This is no clearer than in Psalm 110. Listen to Pastor David's sermon for more as we consider the King, the Priest, and the Warrior of this most-cited psalm.
We are all hedonists at heart. We do what we think will bring us the most happiness. It is part of our design that is meant for us to pursue our joy in God’s blessing. Psalm 32 holds out to us the path to such blessing. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon for more.
No one respects a hypocrite. The key to avoid being one is to obey first God's command for yourself before correcting your brother or sister with what they need to do to obey the Lord. This is all the more important (and challenging) in relationships of authority and honor. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
We can think of the Psalms mainly about encouraging and comforting us. Yet the introduction to the Psalter highlights their focus on living righteously in all of life's circumstances devoted to God's Word and God's King. But we will miss the main thing about Psalm 2 if we only look at it in the context of Judah's dynasty. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
We see Paul's response to a question about those engaged to be married. Should they go through with it, considering his teaching that singleness provides an opportunity to serve Christ undivided? Both are permitted, Paul insists, and you do well in either case. Listen to Pastor David’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 7:25-40 for more.
All Christians are Saints, set apart for God. Let us be like Christ and pray for one another. Let us be like Christ as we see Him in John 17; He was praying not for Himself but for others. Listen to Michael Urch's exhortation for more.
Surely the call to Christ would require a complete reorientation of life to a new vocation, right? Not so, says Paul. Rather, remain as you are, holding in tension contentment and ambition by abiding with God. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 7:17-24 for more.
The prophet Nathan told a story to King David to reveal the part he had played. We too readily assume we’re the hero of our own story. Yet, knowing our role equips us to play it faithfully. Listen to Pastor Zach’s exhortation for more.
As we reaffirm our covenant commitments as members of one another, it is good for us to not be rash with our mouths, nor let our hearts be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and we are on earth (Ecclesiastes 5:2). We make such commitments to one another before the face of God. Listen to Pastor David exhort us to pay what you vow for more.
God designed established marriage to be a life-long, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman. He did so to communicate the beauty of the gospel in the union of Christ with his Bride. That is why divorce wreaks havoc on the communication of the gospel. Too often focus is on the exceptions rather than the norm when it comes to divorce, yet Pastor Brett points us to the focus of 1 Corinthians 7:10-16 on preserving marriages.
Like the Church of Corinth, we have our own slogans. One familiar one is, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." And you can—you ought to do all things. But not how it is often thought of. Paul is commending the spiritual secret he has learned, that rare jewel of contentment. Jeremiah Burroughs described it as a gracious disposition that submits to God's wisdom. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation to learn contentment for more.
A ceramic pig dressed as a chef was irreparably broken. Have you been told—or believed—promises about marriage that have similarly crashed and shattered? Living married has clear instruction. Being gifted to be contentedly unmarried has its merits. But what about being unmarried yet desiring to be? That is a hard place to be, especially in a cultural context when so much was promised if you only ____ . Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Corinthians 7:6-9 for more.
If the chief end of man is to glorify God, then we dare not seek glory for ourselves. Ananias and Sapphira sought their own glory and paid for it with their lives. Listen to Toby Phillips’ exhortation to give and not take glory.
Cocaine isn’t all bad. It can be used for good purposes. And the body and its use in the full enjoyment of marriage isn’t bad. It is a gift to be enjoyed with guidelines. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 7:1-5 for more.
Stretching back to Plato, through Corinth, past Descartes, and to our very experience is an assumed schism between the virtuous immaterial and inferior material. And it’s destructive, being used as a cover for sin, especially sexual immorality. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 6:15-20 for more.
The legacy of the Rechabites is a less prominent account found in Jeremiah 35. They honored their father and were promised to never lack a man to stand before the Lord. Listen to Pastor Zach’s exhortation that we might honor like Rechabites.
Catchy phrases and quippy slogans are not a modern development of propaganda. The most clever versions are tough to deny initially. Yet getting past the yard sign or bumper sticker, their often insidious nature is revealed. Listen to Pastor Zach’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 6:12-14 for more.
King Asa was a good king of Judah. He made many reforms that served the right worship of God. Yet he didn’t go all the way; he left many of the places of idolatry. Listen to Pastor Brett’s exhortation to exceed the faithfulness of Asa.
It is moral insanity to rebel against God over and over, expecting never to meet judgment. It is moral insanity to call good that which is evil. It is moral insanity when so-called Christians and pseudo-pastors attempt to gaslight us when God's Word is clear. Yet we don't look down on moral insanity as though we're better, because we recognize that such were we apart from the grace of God. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 for more.
Walking through a centuries-old European city, you'll see the stark contrast of allegiances in a single building. There etched in the foundation, "To the Glory of God Alone," while flapping in the ephemeral wind is the fleeting exaltation of Self. Listen to Pastor David's exhortation to not be "carried about by every wind of doctrine" for more.
It is unbecoming of Christians to resolve their conflicts by airing them before non-Christians, whether in formal lawsuits or the court of public opinion. It would be far better for a Christian to be defrauded by a fellow Christian than to do so. That is the gospel way Jesus modeled. Listen to seminary apprentice Ben Aurich on 1 Corinthians 6:1-8 for more.
In the face of sin, hardship, and suffering, we look to turn to something, anything that will provide rest, comfort, strength, and salvation. It is so tempting to run to other gods, whatever form they may take. Instead, come to Jesus and find that he provides rest for your soul. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation to be provoked to repent of ways you turn to other gods rather than come to Jesus.
If the Minnesota Legislature had passed the "Equal Rights Amendment" and voters approved it and the legal cover provided for the abortion and LGBTQ agendas, would it be necessary for Christians to flee to conservative havens? Or, do we judge outsiders? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 to see how Paul calls for us to not judge outsiders but insiders, especially when there is persistent, unrepentant sin.
Are you sensing the word of God charging you with guilt? Repent! - Repentance to life involves changing allegiance from personal autonomy to the authority of Jesus Christ. This is the transformation from the old self to the new. Listen as Pastor David exhorts us to bow our knees to Jesus to save us.
Overlooking others’ sins can feel like a gracious response, but when we allow sin to go unchecked in the church, we choose cheap grace over Christ, our Passover lamb. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on I Corinthians 5:1-8 to learn how cleansing sin from among us involves applying gospel solutions to church problems.
Who is disciplining you? We are always watching and learning from someone, taking in examples of how to live—and it matters whom we imitate. In I Corinthians 4:14-21, Paul seeks the fruitfulness of the Corinthian church when he asks them to be imitators of him rather than being discipled by arrogant boasters. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon to learn how imitation entails admonition, instruction, and demonstration.
As Paul rounds out his argument against divisions in the church, he takes aim in love to pop the balloon of pride we each are inclined to cling to. Listen to Jared Compton, associate professor at Bethlehem College & Seminary, on 1 Corinthians 4:6-13 for more.
What is a dandelion, a weed or a flower? The distinction is if it is desired and not competing with other cultivated plants. When you read God’s Word, and it stings, will you regard it as a weed—unwanted and competing with other desires—or as the flower it is? Listen to Pastor Brett’s exhortation for more.
If you knew you would die tomorrow, what would you want to say to your loved ones? And what would you pray? In John 17, Jesus prays to his heavenly Father and challenges the disciples’ expectations of what his work will accomplish for them and for all who would believe in him. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on John 17:20-26 to learn how our unity in Christ reflects the intimate unity of the triune God.
As the body of Christ, we have the privilege and responsibility to take ownership of one another’s needs. Whether these needs are financial, physical, or relational, we are to take them on as if they were our own—knowing that Jesus took ownership of our needs so that we might partake of his fullness. Listen as Pastor David exhorts us to contribute to the needs of the saints.
What is true Christianity? Both inside and outside of the church, there’s confusion on how to answer this question. “True religion is a union of the soul to God,” wrote 17th-century minister Henry Scougal, and in John 15, Jesus uses the metaphor of a vineyard to illustrate this living and abiding union. Listen to Pastor David’s sermon on John 15:1-11 to learn more about the nature, practice, and result of the Christian’s union with Christ.
Your most valuable resource is your time, and your time is what will constitute your life. By using the present time to make much of Christ, we set in motion the lasting future impact of a life lived to the glory of God. As British missionary C.T. Studd wrote, “Only one life, twill soon be past / Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Listen as Pastor Brett exhorts us to pursue godly ambition.
When we are united to Christ, we have a union that leads to life. But if we refuse the guilt of Adam—a union that leads to death—we can’t claim Christ as our representative. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on Romans 5:12-6:11 to learn more about the reality of being dead to sin and alive in Christ.
Idleness is not only a sin itself, but it can also serve as an open door that welcomes other sins into our lives and hearts. As J.C. Ryle warns, “Idleness is the devil’s best friend”—many sins would not have had a chance to tempt us were we not idle first. Listen as Pastor Zach exhorts us to flee the sin of idleness.
Jesus implores his followers to give generously to everyone who asks of them. We must not ask whether they deserve it before giving to people in need. If you are only generous to those you consider the deserving core, you do not understand the depth of your sins or the Grace of God. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation on giving to everyone who begs from you.
What would you say is the most central doctrine of the Christian faith? The doctrine of our union with Christ is the most central doctrine. It is, as a number of theologians have described it, the central hub of a wheel that all other doctrines related to our salvation are connected to. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Ephesians 1:3-14 for an introduction into this doctrine.
There is much to celebrate on Easter Sunday. There is so much joy to be had on Easter Sunday morning. The question is: why do we celebrate? On what basis do you find joy on Easter morning? Listen to Pastor Brett's message on how Jesus was joyful unto life through three questions: What, So What, and Now What?
What do we deserve? What we deserve is to have God's face turned away from us. We deserve to hear the guilty verdict passed before the judgment seat of the maker of Heaven and Earth. But God gave us what we did not deserve, namely Jesus. Listen to Pastor David exhort us on the things we don't deserve, yet God, through His mercy, gave us everything we didn't deserve.
What do you tell people who are suffering in the world? What do you tell people who want their sorrows to be redeemed? Nothing addresses suffering like Christianity because no other belief has Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, we see the greatest suffering in history accomplishing God's greatest purpose in history. Listen to Pastor Zach's message on the sorrow of Jesus as we trust him with our sorrows.
Nobody wants to be a coward. We love to identify with the brave heroes of our favorite stories, yet the seeds of courage are sown not in bold actions witnessed by others but rather in the quiet work of putting to death the secret sins of our hearts. Godly courage in public begins with godly courage in private. Listen as Pastor Zach exhorts us to be courageous.
Whose approval do you seek as you endure in faithfulness? The dopamine hits of social media have discipled us to fear what others think, but when followers of Christ look to Christ for our commendation, we cultivate a proper perspective of both the praise of man and the coming judgment of God. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 to learn how a faithful steward views the praise of others in God-honoring smallness.
The apostle Paul encouraged all believers to pursue and intensify their zeal. In his words, it is a trait that should be fanned into flame. Hence, it is important to ask ourselves, where does our zeal lie? Listen as Pastor David exhorts us not to be lazy or indifferent about our zeal.
The "divine right of kings" was a political doctrine that established the ultimate authority of European monarchies in the 17th and 18th centuries. The attending pomp and circumstance of royalty gave much to loyal subjects to boast in. Yet Christians have a royal claim in Christ leading Paul to declare, "All is yours!" Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Corinthians 3:18-23 for more.
We live in a day marked by great carelessness—in particular, a carelessness toward the truth. We are unconcerned by it. But, as Paul makes clear in 1 Corinthians, we work in vain if we build on any foundation other than the truth of the Gospel. Listen to Pastor David’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 3:10-17 to learn four reasons we should take care to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ.
Where there is a worshiper, there is a singer. Forgetting that our hearts are always singing praise to someone or something, we often have a small view of the importance of expressing our worship of God through song. Listen as Michael Urch exhorts us to sing praise to God, for he is pleased to hear us.
Through justification, God declares righteous the ungodly, and through sanctification, God works in us, making us into the image of Christ. The apostle Paul calls us to mature in holiness. Listen to Pastor David's message on Justification and Sanctification as we mature in righteousness.
Be aware of the Disney gospel that tells you to follow your sinful heart. Don't follow your heart unless your heart is following Christ. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation on the importance of following the heart of Christ.
Christ or Corinth? We can’t have both, and choosing the worldly wisdom of Corinth results in the divisiveness that Paul addresses in the Corinthian church. Instead of resting in the wisdom of this age, Paul would have the church fully mature in Christ by living fully in light of the gospel, humbly resting in the wisdom of Christ. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on I Corinthians 2:6-11 to learn more.
Our motivation—or lack of motivation—to give God the first and best of our time corresponds to our appreciation for his Word. If we think of Scripture as outdated or confusing, why would we look to it in the morning? Listen to Pastor Brett’s exhortation to delight in the Word.
What is the first thing that you do when you wake up? Check your notifications? Read the news? Make coffee? Studies show our most consistent habits are those that are done first in the day. It won't be the same as David, but we will prepare a sacrifice of praise for God in the morning (Psalm 5:3). Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation to give God your first and best.
It is remarkable that God is pleased to use unremarkable efforts to share the gospel to effect eternal change in the souls of sinners. In fact, it is by sharing the counter-cultural gospel that we hold out the hope of the counter-culture. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 to be encouraged in your evangelistic efforts.
What is the gospel? It's a simple question that could be answered with all kinds of complexity. One of the simplest answers is: Christ crucified. It's an answer that people the world over regard as folly. Yet, the folly of Christ crucified is powerful to make united fools of Christ. Christ will make all of us fools in one respect or another. Which kind will you be? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Corinthians 1:22-31 for more.
"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you." Augustine of Hippo experienced a stunning conversion to follow Christ rather than his carnal lusts and fruitless joys. He found Christ to be his "sovereign joy," that truly God's presence is where pleasure is found forevermore. Listen to Pastor David's exhortation to imitate the delight of Augustine.
The word “idolatry” might bring to mind the statues and high places described in the Old Testament, but worthless idols come in many forms. When we look to created things rather than the Creator for our hope, happiness, significance, and security, we are chasing after idols. To learn how idolatry begins with beholding, listen to Pastor Brett’s exhortation to “look on no vile thing.”
How does the gospel relate to human wisdom? And more specifically, why is worldly wisdom detrimental to the faith and unity of the church? Paul addresses these questions as he responds to not only the divisions in the Corinthian church but also the source of their disunity. Listen to Pastor David’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 for more.
The people of Israel added sin to sin by rejecting the LORD and looking for security from Egypt. Isaiah 30:1-3 says it was the act of stubborn children that resulted in shame. Listen to Pastor Zach’s exhortation to not go down to Egypt.
Quarrels and even divisions are understandable among a group of sinners like a local church. But encouraging and continuing such factions is contrary to the gospel. In 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, Paul addresses the first church problem with a two-fold gospel solution. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon for more.
As we seek to persevere in modeling true Christianity to a watching world, Pastor David commends to us the example of David Brainerd, an eighteenth-century missionary and minister whose devotion to Christ persisted through great suffering. Listen to this week’s exhortation to learn more.
Our ongoing struggle against sin—our slow sanctification—can lead us to become despondent, or even lead us to think a particular sin is just part of who we are. We need hope to strengthen us in the life of slow sanctification, and it is with the hope of Christ that Paul encourages the Corinthians as he gives thanks to God for them. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 to hear how this word of hope is for us, too, as sinning saints pressing on toward greater Christlikeness.
As the Apostle Paul writes his second letter to Timothy, what instruction is he burdened to share with his “true child in the faith”? Knowing that it’s possible to profess Christianity and yet fail to experience and abide in Jesus, Paul desires that Timothy would “remember Jesus Christ,” not merely know correct information about him. For more, listen as Pastor David exhorts us to remember Christ in everything we do.
“Call me Ishmael.” “There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.” Introductions are powerful things; they shape our imaginations, challenge our expectations, and present new worlds for our consideration. In his opening words to the church in Corinth, Paul sets a vision for the Christian life, especially as it is lived in the context of the local church. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on I Corinthians 1:1-3 for more.
Gratefully, Westview is not in a desperate financial position because of God's provision through the generosity of our members. Yet as we look ahead to 2024 and beyond, the pastors are eager to see the mission advance in us and in the world. One significant way this will be accomplished is if we are hedonistic givers. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
When Jesus inaugurated his kingly reign by taking on human form, he did not exempt himself from strife with close family and friends. But such people would not have an inside track to his kingdom. All sons and daughters of the kingdom must embrace Christ as King by faith. When they do, Jesus sees to it they are trained like scribes to bring out treasures for his kingdom. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Matthew 13:51-58 for more.
As one reads through the storyline of redemption, coming to John’s Gospel is full of anticipation. That expectation is increased as John refers back to the beginning. Who is this Word, Life, and Light John speaks of? Listen to Pastor Brett’s Christmas Eve sermon for more.
All of the anticipation and excitement of recent weeks culminated in the coming of Christmas. The traditions, meals, and the gifts—can’t forget the gifts! But what if it never comes? What if the day and hour of Christ’s return to usher in his kingdom is today? Jesus’ two parables in Matthew 13:44-46 point us to see the value of his kingdom that our joy may be in it. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon for more.
Holiday gatherings, too often, are marked by family discord and tension. How might we engage in a way that sets us apart as Christians? 1 Peter 3:13-17 is a needful exhortation that we would be ready with hope. Listen to Pastor Zach’s exhortation for more.
If your sorrow feels out of place during this Christmas and Advent season, you’re not alone. Times of celebration can highlight the brokenness in our lives, and December’s long nights remind us of the darkness of our sinful state. We are a people in need of comfort. Listen as Pastor Brian exhorts us to set our hope fully on the Messiah who dispels the darkness and brings us comfort.
Do not despise small beginnings. Like a mustard seed and the leaven in bread, Christ’s saving kingdom starts small and hidden, but the way of the Cross leads to massive growth: death gives way to life, sinners become saints, and the people of God are transformed into Christ’s image. For more, listen to Pastor Zach’s sermon on Matthew 13:31-35.
December is full of sentimental moments and memories. Such sentimentalizing even infects use of the Bible in greeting cards and carols. But Jesus’ parables of the kingdom aren’t quaint, nice stories. He’s telling us eternity is at stake. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on Matthew 13:24-50 for more.
A historic struggle for Christians is how to describe the person of Jesus in light of his two natures as the God-Man. That can find expression in our lives by emphasizing one nature over the other. We can guard against such error by singing, “Hail! The Incarnate Word made flesh!” Listen to Pastor Brett’s exhortation for more.
What is the central theme of Christ’s teaching? We could suggest a number of themes—love, humble service, faith—but all of these are encompassed in the overarching theme of the coming kingdom of God. When Christ proclaimed the coming kingdom during his earthly ministry, he shattered his hearers’ expectations of what that kingdom would look like. Listen to Pastor David’s sermon on Matthew 13:1-23 to see the mystery of the kingdom of God in the Parable of the Sower.
Cultivate a yearning for Christ this Advent and put to death a dreary boredom with the things of Christ. Don't merely pep yourself up with or be distracted by a few festive weeks. Rather, plead with your heart, "Dear Savior, come to tired earth / And bring the grace of dawn / Dispel the night with Thy face / Come Messiah come!". Listen as Pastor Brett exhorts us to Flee Acedia in Advent.
The Most High God deals with us in anger for our sins while remembering mercy. Genesis 2:17 reveals such anger, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” The story of the beginning ends with death. Jacob’s death. Joseph’s death. The final word is ... death. But does death really have the final word? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 50 for more.
Sin tempts us to turn away from following our savior, Jesus Christ. Every week we receive an exhortation so that we will turn back, confess, and repent. What is it ultimately that leads you to repent? God's kindness. It is the kindness of our God that is meant to lead you to repentance. Listen as Pastor Zach exhorts us to let God's kindness lead us to repentance.
We are fascinated by the last words. While the living delude themselves with many things, none of us will ultimately escape the reality of death, and the words that overflow from the heart of a dying person reveal where they have set their hope. As Jacob enters his final hours, he blesses his sons and shows us how a sinful yet faithful man faces death. Listen to Aaron White’s sermon on Genesis 47:27-49:33 to see God’s promise of blessing as the foundation of the believer’s hope in life and death.
Jesus set about the work of his earthly ministry with “nowhere to lay his head,” but despite his lack of a home, he models generous hospitality for his followers—specifically, the hospitality of a gracious and selfless guest. Listen as Pastor Brett exhorts us to pursue the greater flourishing of giving rather than receiving when we are the guest of another.
“You’re not from around here, are you?” This comment exposes its recipient’s lack of belonging, whether in an unfamiliar culture, a new life stage, or a new academic or professional challenge. We should embrace that feeling of not belonging when it’s stirred up—because we don’t belong. God’s people are out-of-place sojourners meant for another world. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on Genesis 45-47:26 to see God’s sovereign provision, his abiding presence, and his fulfilled promise displayed through Israel’s long sojourn in Egypt.
When the people of Israel fought against Amalek, God allowed Israel to prevail as long as Moses lifted up his hands overlooking the battle, but Moses’ steadfast leadership depended on the physical support of Aaron and Hur. Similarly, our prayers hold up the hands of our pastors so they can continue to carry out their sacred responsibility to lift up the Word of God. For more, listen as Pastor Zach exhorts us to pray for our pastors.
Does a critical spirit mark you? We love to express our discontent through grumbling, but this inclination reveals a lack of faith and gratitude, and it displays a poor testimony to a watching world. Listen as Ben Aurich exhorts us to shine as lights in the world by doing all things without grumbling or disputing.
Before going rock climbing, we naturally want to know that the equipment we’re entrusting with our safety is made of quality substance. In the same way, when Joseph meets his brothers in Egypt, decades after they sold him into slavery, he sets out to discern whether he can trust them. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on Genesis 42-44 to see how Joesph engages with his brothers as a wise ruler, showing that even the worst of sinners can be redeemed.
Technology can be an excellent tool, but it’s not a neutral one. Whether scrolling social media or consuming information, we are shaped by our screens. At its worst, a digital life is a disembodied one; our surroundings and our neighbors fade away, and we are oblivious to the needs around us. For more, listen as Pastor Zach exhorts us to resist letting our smartphones disembody us.
Humiliation before exaltation is the redemptive refrain of Scripture, and it echoes with particular clarity in the story of Joseph: God interprets dreams to bring about the exaltation of a beloved son, working both evil and good for his good purposes and for the fulfillment of his promises. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on Genesis 40-41 to learn how Joseph’s redemption speaks to our own longing for a better country as we confidently await the exaltation of another beloved Son.
When we find ourselves in a place like Joseph, down in the pit, we can do what is right. We can hunger and thirst for righteousness because of God's presence. So, when sin looks normal all around us, how do we remove the strangeness of righteousness? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 37-39 to learn more about the righteousness of God as we see it in the life of Joseph.
In a world of increasing lawlessness, the love of Christ fuels the love of God’s people. We’ve been privileged to fan the flames of our brothers’ and sisters’ love by encouraging each other to endure. Listen as David Stabley exhorts us to stir one another up to love and good works so that our love might not grow cold.
Just as Moses pointed to his slowness of speech to avoid delivering God’s message to Pharaoh, we can be tempted to see personality as the immutable core of who we are and to use our personality traits to rationalize disobedience. Listen as Pastor Zach exhorts us to not find our identity in personality, and to avoid using the natural tendencies of our personalities as an excuse to sin.
Genesis 34-36 shows the chaos of people controlled by their own sinful purposes and lusts and twisting God’s plans into sin instead of submitting to his promises. We also see death coming to Jacob’s family, and rapid multiplication to Esau’s. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon to learn how confidence in the blood of Christ frees us from the lusts of our former ignorance to look to Christ, not to our present circumstances, for evidence of God’s good and true promises.
How many of us press through? How many of us are willing to go through the night in the struggle to weep, seek, pray, ask, and knock? Do you overextend your piety in prayer to the point where when you feel anxiety and fear, you don't go to your father but hold on to it yourself? Cast your anxiety instead on the Lord, for He cares for you. Listen to David's sermon on Genesis 32-33 as he examines the relentless effort of Jacob as he pressed on and struggled through the night to get the blessing of God in preparation to meet Esau.
What is God's will for you? As you walk through each day and each week, you are confronted with thousands of decisions you must make. And in each of these decisions, there is a question we should ask - What is God's will in this decision? How do you know the Will of God in your life for each of these decisions you must make throughout your life, whether big or small? Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation on discerning the good, acceptable, and perfect Will of God for your life.
“The Bible is boring,” says no one who has read Genesis 29-31. This account of Jacob’s growing family and his exile puts God’s promises on display in narrative form. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon to hear how the same brokenness on display in Jacob’s story besets us all, and how the same greater story—of God’s fulfilling his promises through his Son—brings us peace.
In Genesis 28:10-22, Jacob dreams of a ladder to Heaven and encounters the Lord, who reminds Jacob of the covenant love he has promised to the line of Abraham. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon to learn how Jacob’s finding grace in an unexpected place prompts us to look to Jesus, the Ladder, to find God, and how it is good to commemorate this saving grace.
God’s love for Jacob and hatred for Esau grates against our modern sensibilities. His purposes of election undermine our pride, our scheming, and our striving to receive favor based on our own merit. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on Genesis 26:1-28:9 to see how our hope is in a God who is faithful, not in our ability to be faithful to his covenant.
The blessing of God—coming by the promise of God, because of the purpose of God—is the banner that flows over all the patriarch narratives. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on Genesis 25:12-35 to see the mystery and goodness of God’s election on display as he advances his plans and keeps his promises through the line of Abraham.
In his parable of the soils, Jesus uses the image of seeds sown on a path and devoured by birds to illustrate how Satan delights in devouring the seeds of gospel words. Listen as Pastor Brett exhorts us to beware of the birds of distraction that would pick away at our attention to gospel truth, taking us away from what would nourish our souls. Read more on the source of this exhortation at https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/beware-of-the-birds.
In the Bible, fasting often shows up in desperate times and needs. Fasting is for those not satisfied with the status quo. Fasting is for those not satisfied with God's Grace. Listen as Pastor Zach exhorts us to the importance of fasting like a Christian.
Have you ever known the right thing to do but struggled to do it? Do you struggle to run to Jesus in times of distress and take refuge in the Lord? Listen to Connor Kennedy’s sermon on Psalm 11 to learn how God’s transcendence, his immanent reign, and his promise to reward the righteous should drive his people to take refuge in him.
From the latest viral hit to the Psalms of the Bible, people have turned to songs to lament how the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer. Asaph, the writer of Psalm 73, wrestles with these hard questions as he grapples with the goodness of God in affliction. He identifies our hope: not a life without suffering, but a life with God in which he enables us to endure, rejoice, and be satisfied in him. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon for more.
Is mercy the aroma of your life? In the Beatitudes, Jesus names mercifulness as one of the qualities that characterize his true followers. Listen as Pastor Brian exhorts us to marvel at the mystery of the mercy we’ve been shown, that we might extend it to others.
To “hope” is to cherish a desire with anticipation of that desire’s fulfillment. When the object of our desire is Christ, we have not an unattainable wish, but a certain hope and an identity confidently rooted in him. Listen to Pastor Brian’s sermon on Ephesians 1:3-14 to learn how knowing who we are in Christ fuels us for a life of hope.
These three words should orient our lives of discipleship and devotion to Christ: "You follow me." Listen as David exhorts us to sincerely walk according to God’s commandments and concern ourselves with his calling for our lives, regardless of the choices of others.
The natural world is full of opportunities to experience awe: a vast expanse of prairie that seems utterly boundless, the power of hail and lightning on a mountaintop, the intricacies of the scales and fins of bluegill, the magnitude of the immensity of a cloudless night sky. Yet awe reaches its goal when paired with thanksgiving. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation to pursue awe for more.
Laments are made up of appeals to God. What do you do when the pressure mounts or when life hurts? Where or what do you turn to in those moments? Laments teach us to open our mouths and tell our Father all our troubles. Listen to Pastor Lewis's sermon on Psalm 42-43 examining the anatomy of Laments.
After the monumental pivot of Acts 11, as the mission advances by demand and delight, the gospel begins its way to the "ends of the earth" in Paul's first missionary journey. As Jews & Gentiles repent and believe, what is left in the wake of Paul's ministry? Healthy churches. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on Acts 13-14 for more.
The keeper of a garden containing poisonous plants best serves his guests not by throwing open the gates but by explaining and guarding the plants. Paul’s manner of life among the Thessalonians models a similarly attentive hospitality as he selflessly pours himself out for their good. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on I Thessalonians 2:1-12 to see how joyous mission leads naturally to generous hospitality.
Our joyful mission to proclaim the good news sometimes makes us feel more like awkward middle schoolers, wanting to fit in and anxious about what others might think of us. Listen as Pastor Zach exhorts us to mature in our faith as joyful fools for Christ for the sake of our souls and those of our neighbors.
The desire to share our experiences — both good and bad — is wired in us. If we are increasingly shaped by how the gospel relates to all of life, our delight in Christ’s person and work must overflow into sharing how the truth of Christ applies to every situation. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on Acts 11:1-26 to see how the early church grew in its mission by demand and mission by delight as the good news spread to the Gentiles.
Does the fear of legalism make you inclined to downplay the importance of exerting significant effort in your walk with Christ? Listen as Pastor Haakon exhorts us to lean into the work of sanctification, knowing that God does not leave us helpless in our pursuit of him and that he will richly reward our pursuit.
As a church, we must uproot competing desires that would choke out the effect of the Word in us. We must get out of the habit of only asking if something we do is wrong or sinful, but instead, get into the habit of asking, "Is this cultivating the effect of God's holy word in me? Listen as David exhorts us on how to uproot competing desires choking the Word in us.
The Bible is full of imagery that compares enduring in physical training to enduring in godliness; both involve overcoming distractions and doubts to do the next right thing, again and again. Listen as Pastor Zach exhorts us to live lives of endurance—marked by countless moments of faithful obedience and fueled by trust that God will supply the grace we need to endure.
The Bible is full of imagery that compares enduring in physical training to enduring in godliness; both involve overcoming distractions and doubts to do the next right thing, again and again. Listen as Pastor Zach exhorts us to live lives of endurance—marked by countless moments of faithful obedience and fueled by trust that God will supply the grace we need to endure.
Sharing meals together is integral to the life of the church. Listen as Michael exhorts us to not neglect breaking bread with one another, that we may cultivate community, serve as a witness to the world, and see a shadow of the feast to come.
When Genesis 23 opens, Abraham has just lost his wife, Sarah. Together they had clung to God’s promises in faith, and Abraham’s decisions surrounding Sarah’s burial are driven by that same faith as he looks to a better country. Listen to Pastor Zach’s sermon to learn how Abraham’s purchase of a cave bears testimony that the promises of God are not extinguished by death.
A core lie of our culture tells us that every issue boils down to an “us versus them” opposition, with no margin for those who disagree with one another to live in harmony. Such a manner of thinking and communicating has no place among the people of God. Listen as Pastor Brett exhorts us to consider how having the mind of Christ ought to shape even our disagreements as we count others more significant than ourselves.
God’s shocking command for Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, is not a sadistic display of divinely ordained wickedness. Rather, it holds up to us a strong confidence that God will ultimately provide the sacrifice of his own beloved Son as his people obey him in faith-filled fear. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon to learn how Genesis 22 gives us assurance that God will fulfill all his promises to us in Christ.
In this sermon, pastor Brett examines the significance of Genesis 20 & 21. We are called to Trust God to Keep us From Sin, Believe God's Promise, Cry to God Who Hears, and call on God Who is. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
Unceasing prayer, constant prayer, child-like frequency of dependence, and discussion with God is the only thing that makes sense in light of what Christ has done for us. Pastor Haakon reminds us to Pray without ceasing because His love is boundless, His wisdom is without measure, and His strength is never failing. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
Kids can find all kinds of fun around a train track, but when the train comes rumbling the kids scatter. What is your reaction when the train of pain comes your way? More importantly, how can you "count it all joy ... when you meet trials of various kinds"? Seek wisdom to do so. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
The Psalms are a songbook that we turn to like an emotional jukebox. When we are in trouble, we go to the jukebox to find help and what gets played is Psalm 130. It is a song for sinners who are in trouble because of their own actions. Listen to this sermon for more on Psalm 130 by Jared Compton, Assistant Professor at Bethlehem College & Seminary.
When developing black and white photos from film, filters are used to increase the contrast of the photo. The narrative of God's merciful character in Genesis 18 is held in contrast to the display of his holiness and judgment directed toward unrepentant sinners in Genesis 19. Yet God works salvation through judgment on the twin cities. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 19 for more.
The apostle Paul exhorts us to not live by the flesh but by the Spirit, evidenced by a life characterized by the multidimensional fruit of the Spirit. When we endeavor to cultivate that fruit by means of the flesh we yield counterfeits. Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation for more.
As we go about our lives, we are shaped by praise. That influence comes from one of two sources: the praise of man we hear in applause or affirmation of God we hear when he says, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Will you have your reward now, or will you orient your life for the reward God will impart? Listen to David Stabley’s exhortation to seek the smile of God for more.
The vows we hear at weddings and remember at anniversaries are significant—“I take you to be my wife … I take you to be my husband.” The commitments we make are rooted in the unique relational status of the couple. When God vows, “I will be their God, and they will be my people,” he is articulating the covenant relationship marriage points to. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on Genesis 18 as the Lord reveals more of what it is like to be in covenant with him.
Using the different names of God as we pray doesn’t make him especially inclined to hear us. Rather, this practice reminds us who God is and the things that are true about him. Genesis 17 features the first naming of God as El Shaddai—God Almighty. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon to learn what the covenant of circumcision teaches us about God Almighty and his promises.
C.S. Lewis famously argued that anyone who made the claims Christ did could not be merely a great moral teacher; he must be either a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord. Listen as Pastor Haakon exhorts us to view our sins not as failures to meet the standards of a moral teacher but as personal affronts to the Lord we belong to.
Scandal sells papers, turns heads, and can leave its subjects with public humiliation. Why would anyone choose to associate with the scandalous? Listen as Pastor Brett exhorts us to embrace the greatest scandal in history: God putting his forbearance on display as he makes us righteous.
When we feel spiritually barren or distressed and discouraged, we are not called to stand in our own strength but to stand in one who is strong. In Genesis 16, Sarai, Abram, and Hagar are living in the time between God’s promise and its fulfillment; their choices—and God’s sovereignty over their choices—point toward the great deliverance to come. Listen to David’s sermon for more.
Making a financial plan prompts us to think about a thousand ways we could use our resources, and it’s tempting to believe life would be easier if we were richer. Listen as Pastor Zach exhorts us to consider what we actually need in order to be content—it’s an unexpected shortlist.
“How long, O LORD?” This intensely emotional lament of the psalmists is an expression of faith seeking understanding and turning to the Lord to find that understanding. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on Genesis 15 to learn how Abram displays this kind of lamenting faith as the promises of God undo his doubts.
There are many ways in which we might approach the task of memorizing Scripture. What do these methods have in common? They all require discipline. Listen to David’s exhortation to learn the five reasons he commends the discipline of Scripture memorization.
The parables of Jesus provocatively reveal what his kingdom is like. A man forsaking all, a merchant selling all, a grain of wheat dying. To what end? The blessing of God and his kingdom. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 13-14 as we see Abram anticipating the J-Curve Kingdom.
Examine your heart: Where have you lacked the courage to obey God, bc it was too risky?
Has the fear of Emptying your savings account prevented you from giving to the poor?
Has the fear of being uncomfortable prevented you from inviting over your neighbor for a meal?
Has the fear of getting sick kept you from caring for someone who’s sick?
Has the fear of being ostracized or even fired at work prevented you from honoring the Lord in your conversation? Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
The resurrection of Jesus was 1,990 years ago. That's a long time for his people to be waiting for the fulfillment of his promises. Are they still reliable and true? We go back even further in the past to see the faithfulness of God to fulfill his promise in order to help us press on in the present. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 12:4-20 for more.
Leprosy was a diagnosis in the ancient world that could result in a life of isolation and hopelessness. In desperation, one leper asked Jesus to be cleansed, to which Jesus replied, "I will. Be clean." It's a parable for what Jesus would go on to do through his death for all who likewise put their faith in him. Listen to Pastor Brett's Good Friday sermon on how Jesus purifies us from sin.
The Great Commission refers to the assignment Jesus gave His disciples shortly before returning to heaven following His resurrection. The commission is found in Matthew 28:18-20. Listen to pastor Haakon's sermon as he examines The Foundation of Our Commission, The Work of Our Commission, and The Promise of Our Commission.
This week, we mark the historical event of Jesus Christ drinking the bitter cup of God's wrath. Jesus drank every last drop for you. As we reflect on the suffering that Jesus endured to accomplish our redemption, there is no hope of salvation apart from suffering. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
Pastor Brett sat down with David and Pastor Zach to discuss some more of the outworking and practical questions related to our current sermon series on the doctrine of the church. Is there a right age when a child testifying faith in Christ can be baptized? Why do we offer both wine and juice in Communion? Would we really think of following the process of Matthew 18?
Keys to your first car give you a measure of authority. You can get in the car and drive it around. But there's a responsibility as well. As a church, we are God's people authorized by King Jesus to use the "keys of the kingdom." We do so by proclaiming the "who" and "what" of the kingdom under the leadership of pastors. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Matthew 16 & 18 for more.
Any doctrine can lead to the breaking of unity among Christians. As Christians, we are to strive for both true doctrine and unity of the Church. So what do we do when we have disagreements or conflicts? We never want to avoid the truth, and we never want to divide. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation on staying united when disagreements occur.
Reading the Westview Church Covenant Of Membership which calls us to walk in Love with one another regularly. As we do life together, we seek to love one another by pointing one another to Christ and bearing each other's burdens. Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation for more as he invites us to reflect on our commitment to one another and to pray.
Communion: The ongoing and repeated sign that the many are now made one. It signifies our unity together as a people in Christ. The Lord's Supper is an ordained covenant sign that signifies a church's feasting on Christ by faith. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Communion for more.
Baptism is an Ordained Covenant Sign that signifies a Believer's Union with Christ in His Death and Resurrection.
Baptism is:
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Ordained (Matthew 28:18–19)
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A Covenant Sign (Hebrews 8:7–12)
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For Believers (Colossians 2:10–12)
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Signifying Union With Christ (Romans 6:1–4)
Listen to David's sermon on Romans 6:1–4 for more.
Gentleness - Strength under control.
We find in the New Testament that gentleness moves toward another person with a proper understanding of oneself in light of who God is, in light of God's Holiness and Grace. It's not thinking too highly of yourself. Gentleness is not “indifference to sin. It’s not mere softness, pretending that sin isn’t sin. . .[gentleness is not] a way of avoidance.” It “doesn’t fall into the hostility that so often threatens to engulf us when we try to deal with the sins of others...
Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
When you sing, think less about yourself and think more of Christ. We are in Him, and He is in us. When you sing, be more saved than you are impressive. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
Life together as a church is hard. It’s hard because it can be uncomfortable, because it isn’t about you, because we will sin against each other. We have this band of brothers and sisters to labor alongside because the church is preeminently essential. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Ephesians 3:7-4:1 for more.
Hope rises as sunshine peaks through the clouds after a late winter snow storm marked by gray, dreary clouds. The same sense shines through in Genesis 11, after so much weighty judgment. Yet God promises, hope through one man as God launches in earnest his global purposes of redemption. listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 11:10-12:3 for more.
Maybe you don't like the sound of your voice, or you are struggling to sing for other reasons. God still calls his whole church to gather and to sing his praises in the assembly. You have so much to sing about, whether God has given you an amazing voice or he’s given you an amazing song. In Christ you have much to sing about, so sing to the Lord. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
Genesis 10:1-11:9 describes how God scattered the world's peoples after confusing their languages to stop the building of Babel and its tower.
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United in Human Ancestry (Genesis 10:1–32)
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Divided in Human Rivalry (Genesis 10:15–19, 21)
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United in Human Praise (Genesis 11:1–4)
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Divided in Human Pride (Genesis 11:4–9)
Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 10:1-11:9 for more.
Parents must assume responsibility for the teaching of their children. In our present system, we have schools and institutions, both spiritual and secular, to help in teaching our kids. These are not wrong. But it is the parent's responsibility to see that their children are adequately guided in spiritual matters. Is your life or the lives of your children so filled with time constraints that are choking out the word of God?
Listen to David's exhortation for more.
The Lord God is Faithful despite our unfaithfulness. All creation will be in awe of a Holy and righteous God who will show steadfast faithfulness towards a creation that is hell bound to rebel against him, but He will continue to show Faithfulness. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
Christianity is the exclusive faith that can save us and bring us to heaven. There’s only one God and one Savior, and the Bible is dogmatically clear on this. No matter what the world and our culture want to accuse us of, we can’t compromise on the exclusivity of the Gospel. Listen to David's exhortation for more.
Hope shapes our decisions and our priorities. What you Hope for forms your dreams and aspirations. What do you dream about? What are your aspirations? Trace that back to the root, and you will find Hope. We persevere, we obey, we pray, we evangelize, and we worship because of Hope. What higher Hope do we have that we will enter into that glory that Christ has secured for us? Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
You can look at the world and ask what do I value and what do I want. You are made in God's image, which means you represent Him to the rest of the creation, but He has given you the authority to order things. Listen to Pastor Zach examines how God dishes out authority to us and what happens when we flee and rebel from that authority.
What has been the disposition of your heart? What are the conversations you allow to happen in your mind? Are you constantly complaining or grumbling about what you need to get done and have been unable to accomplish? Are you rehearsing in your mind or even out loud the offenses of others you have not been able to overcome? What is the temperature of your soul?
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Are you a person at ease before the Lord and within yourself? Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation for more.
Our pastoral team recently set aside a full day to meet and work through several topics where our understanding of Scripture gets worked out in our life together as a church. Weighty matters are where the rubber meets the road. Listen to this update from Pastor Brett as he shares about what was discussed and some of the changes that will come about moving forward.
Noah was a just man and perfect in his generation, and Noah walked with God. Noah found grace in God's eyes because he believed in the Word of the Lord. He was a man who walked with God by faith. He was declared blameless in his time and was credited with righteousness - by grace through faith. Listen to David Stabley's sermon for more.
"Shocking: Preacher Says Christians Obey God!" "Mom Patiently Feeds & Clothes Children Faithfully for Years" "Teen Abstains From All Pornography" Those are statements you'll never see in headlines. Simple, everyday obedience to God that flows from faith and grace isn't flashy nor draws much attention. Yet God has provided all we need to walk in obedience to Christ. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
Big foot. Nessie. Area 51. Jackelopes. The realm of the unknown and mysterious piques the interest of our inner conspiracy theorist. Sons of God. Nephilim. Men of renown. Are we operating in the same category in Genesis 6:1-8? As we look more at why these verses are here than who is being referenced, we find we too need to be found by gracious eyes. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
Those who give and and those receive ought both seek the fruit of giving. The one who gives seeks the fruitfulness in the ministry of the one receiving. The who receives seeks the fruit that increases to the giver's credit. It is this seeking of the other's fruit that glorifies God. Listen to Michael Urch's exhortation for more.
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." So writes Paul in 2 Timothy 3:16. But do we actually believe that? We're put to the test when we come to the genealogies in the Old Testament. Does a chapter like Genesis 5 serve any good for us so far removed from its original context? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
As we embark on a new year, would you be wary of the spirit of this age that will tell you that the way of comfort, ease, and safety is not only good and true but that you deserve such comfort, and ease. As you navigate through the expectations of the world, would you second guess your instincts to do what is easiest at that moment. Doing what is easy is not what God necessarily wants us to do. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
Who were the Magi? They are said to come from the East and are considered astronomers or astrologers who have found the rising of a star to be of world-historical significance even though it may not yet be clear how it will all work out. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Matthew 2:1-12 for more.
Twenty percent of the households at our church welcomed a new baby into their home this year. What a remarkable gift! And each child received a name that won't be found in the top ten most common names. Names carry significance and purpose. This was no less true when Joseph received a dream about a child he had not planned on. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Matthew 1:18-25 for more.
A temptation in the Christian life as we endeavor to grow in godliness is to despise the stuff that can be sources of temptation. But the things are not where the sin resides. We can enjoy and value God's gifts without them being sin but leading us to worship the Giver. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
When Jesus stood in the synagogue in Nazareth and read an excerpt from Isaiah, his hearers marveled that this hometown boy would sit down and claim that prophetic anticipation was fulfilled in Jesus. But there was more. Jesus indicated there was yet more to come. Listen to Pastor Brett's Christmas Eve homily for more.
Christ has come in fulfillment of the promise spoken in Genesis 3:15, a reality that Mary was aware of as she sang her "Magnificat." This wonderful song draws on the heritage of faith from Hannah's song in 1 Samuel and Deborah's song in Judges. We rejoice that Jesus came in fulfillment of all of God's promised expectation. Listen to Pastor Brian's Christmas Eve homily for more.
We are given a charge to love one another so that we may know that we are indeed disciples of Jesus. Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation as he reads the member's covenant for more.
We live in a Christ-centered universe. Jesus Christ is Lord over all creation. He stands above every creature. He is the agent in the work of creation. He is the Creator of the whole universe. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on The Incarnate Creator - Colossians 1:15-20 for more.
There has been an influx of Haitian immigrants finding refuge in the Dominican Republic as their country continues to get worse. Pastors Brett and Brian recently returned from the Dominican where they were training Haitian pastors and lay leaders with Training Leaders International. Listen to this update from Pastor Brett on his takeaways from the trip.
Jesus is better. He is better than the angels. He’s better than the prophets. He’s better than Moses. His new covenant is better than the old covenant they could never fulfill. His blood is better than the blood of bulls and goats. In every way and at every turn, Jesus is better. Listen to Pastor Zach's sermon on Hebrews 1:1-3 for more.
“Love Your Neighbor As Yourself.” But what does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? Do we truly understand the way Jesus Christ intended? Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
In a society where things seem to get busier this time of the year, it's an opportunity for us to try to slow down and remember that God sent his son Jesus to live among us. What are some of the events that preceded the birth of Jesus? Listen to Pastor Kenneth's sermon on Luke 1:26-38 for more.
Genesis 4 concludes the first main section of the book with a bleak outlook on what was to come of this very good Heavens and Earth God had created. Sons were given, but they were not characterized by faithfulness. Is there any reason to hope in the face of such sinful boasting? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 4:17-26 for more.
Here east of Eden, we live in a world of frustration, darkness, and violence. We should be longing for God's kingdom to come. Hand in hand with desiring the kingdom is being poor in spirit. Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation for more.
We generally don't like warnings as they restrict us in some way. Yet we need to be on guard for certain things, especially here, east of Eden. Genesis 4:1-16 serves to warn us in two ways of the ongoing work of the serpent from the Garden lest we give ourselves to serpentine thinking. Listen to Jonathan Parnell, from Cities Church, unpack the implications of the story of Cain and Abel.
A popular business book a number of years ago called The Four-Hour Work Week held out the path of efficiencies to work less and design the life you want to live. The Bible, however, clarifies how it is we are to live, not just going with the flow. In what ways are you living by default? Instead, live in the freedom Christ has for you. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
The idea of the gospel can be found in lots of places: take a statement as gospel, gospel music, "brand evangelist," gospel-centered everything. If a prior generation believed the gospel to give rise to such things, then we're in danger of assuming the gospel through its familiarity, and those who follow us very well may reject it all together. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 3:15 to gaze in wonder at the bigger picture of God's good news.
Who doesn't want to be liked by others? Why would you ever want to be hated? Yet those who are following Christ in all of life will (and must) speak of the Son of Man who calls the world to faith and repentance. This will inevitably result in people hating such faithful followers, yet we can rejoice because our reward is not their approval. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
John Steinbeck's magnum opus is aptly titled East of Eden. It is a multigenerational saga that conveys toil, evil, and death such that the reader feels the weight of such things. That is where we find ourselves because of sin—not just Adam's sin but our own sin. Yet we are not without hope. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 3:14-24 for more.
It is wondrous that we have access both to the Scriptures and resources that explain them. It is great we have such tools to study and know true doctrine. But there is a danger of learning much, and it having little impact on how we live our lives. Therefore, we ought to live what we learn. Listen to David Stabley's exhortation for more.
"Our wants and longings and desires are at the core of our identity," so writes James K.A. Smith. What is it that you desire—that you crave? What do you think would satisfy? Jesus says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness." Where does righteousness rank among your desires? Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation for more.
The get-to-know-you game "Two Truths & a Lie" rewards the individual who can best blur the distinction between truth and falsehood. That same blurring lead our first parents to live by the lies of "God's Word is suspect," "I'll get away with it," and "I am the victim." Lies we are still prone to live by. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 3:1-13 for more.
On the day he was arrested in Soviet Russia, novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn released his article titled “Live Not By Lies.” He calls on his countryman to push back against tyranny by not going along with the falsehoods that mark Communism. The Ninth Commandment requires us to not go along with the lies of our day. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
There was a leaf that absolutely loved being a leaf. It loved waving in the breeze, soaking up the sun's rays, and towering over all below from its dizzying heights. One day, it thought it could be more, so it pulled and wrestled its way free. For a moment, it was glorious. But then it faded. The thing that held it back, the tree, made it what it was. Listen to Pastor Haakon's sermon on Genesis 2:18-25 for more.
The seventh day of the creation week remains open—what might human participation in that divine rest look like? The faithful God is shown in Genesis 2:4-17 to further lavish provision by his grace on his creatures as the LORD establishes his people in his place to enjoy his providential presence. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
Do you struggle to commune with God? A number of things contribute to such a struggle, but the foundational issue is a matter of faith. Do you believe that God loves you in particular? You can only receive the love of God in Christ if you believe of the love of God in Christ. Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation for more.
Americans have a complicated relationship between our work and our rest. We're driven toward productivity and can feel guilty to take time off. When we do try to rest, we put so much expectation on the time it is no longer restful. On the seventh day of creation, God formed a day set apart for the activity we're all looking for in our rest. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 2:1-3 for more.
Jesus offered a memorable parable when asked about forgiveness. A servant was forgiven an enormous debt by a merciful king only to leave and demand repayment of a much smaller amount from a fellow servant. This is how our King forgives, and we do well to do likewise. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
You don't have to be an avid gardener to know that seeds are remarkable. You can preserve them and keep for a long time. Expose them to the right conditions, and they'll grow to produce food. Genesis 1 contains seeds that germinate to reveal God's purpose and design for humanity. Part of that design is for us to do God's prescriptions while being sustained by his provisions. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 1:26-31 for more.
When your world is upended or grief crushes with such force, how will you respond? A prime example is a man who slept soundly in the hull of a boat in the midst of a raging storm. He trust his Father and stood to silence the storm. You can rest like him by trusting in him. Listen to David Stabley's exhortation for more.
The first chapter of Genesis brings us into the true story about where we all came from and begins by introducing the main character: God. He was there in the beginning and ordered and filled his good creation to display his sovereign, wise, and good character. As the days of creation progress, anticipation builds for the climactic creature. But the way the story is written does more to answer, "Who am I?" than, "What am I?" Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 1:26-27 for more.
As we look back on church history, focus is given to momentous efforts of starting hospitals, establishing schools and seminaries, forming organizations for sending missionaries, and many other great deeds done by faith. And those things can make our small acts of faithfulness seem inconsequential. Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation to not despise the small things.
Extend your arm. Hold your hand out, palm facing up. Extend your fingers so your hand is as outstretched as it can be. Now, relax. What happened? Your contracted with your fingers closing in. That's what we too readily do in relation to money. This is why Michael Urch exhorts us to kill the love of money. Click through to read more.
Within all the wonder and beauty captured in the creation account across the days recorded in Genesis 1, the steady refrain points us to the King of Glory who speaks. It is by his sovereign decree that he so wisely orders his good creation. Listen to Jonathan Worthington, Vice President of Theological Education at Training Leaders International, he unpacks Genesis 1:3-25.
Sojourning on through the wilderness for forty years as everyone over twenty dies gave rise to plenty of doubts and outright unbelief among the people of Israel. They wanted a god like the nations around them. Into this context, Moses wrote a story. A story to recapture the wonder and worship of a people who were redeemed by the God who was there in the beginning. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Genesis 1:1-2 and enter into who God has made you to be.
If you're hiking or running on trails, it can be helpful to have someone ahead of you that highlights particular hazards based on how they navigate the terrain. However, you can't match them step for step—different strides, different abilities, different people. You have to run your path. When navigating the weight and sin that entangles us, the same is true. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
On your summer road trip, did you play the classic game, "Would you rather?" Often the game is given to trivial options, yet we find the question posed to us in Scripture with a far more serious juxtaposition. Would you rather bear the reproach of Christ or have the wealth of the world? Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
Throughout the Bible, you find described that there really are just one of two ways to live. Psalm 1 highlights that distinction clearly: walk in the way of sinners or delight in God's Word. Which path will you choose? Can you even truly be the kind of person that walks the path God would have you? Listen to Pastor Aaron Browning, from Northwest Bible Church, point us to the Blessed Man of Psalm 1.
Christians are made holy by virtue of our union with Christ, but we find in the Bible the call to grow in holiness. How can we do that? First Thessalonians directs us to turn towards others in love so that we would be made holy. Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation for more.
An ornithologist described his experience studying the shrike species of bird with such awe that he even said it was a kind of worship. Indeed, we are not merely Homo sapiens, "wise man," but Homo adorans, "worshiping man." We're made for worship, for praise. Psalm 150 holds out to us the "simple enthusiasm" that is the trajectory of the redeemed. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
God does not delight in the things people think are mighty and of great value. Rather, God delights in those who hope in his steadfast love. Can you fathom it? God delights in those who humbly come to him. Listen to David Stabley's exhortation to hope in God's steadfast love for more.
Sitting poolside at a large aquatic center, you have to choose wisely where to sit to get the best vantage point. Seeing what's right in front of you will be clear, but if you have an obstructed view of the main pool, you need your vision improved. The psalmist sees clearly the struggles before him but wrestles to see the main thing. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Psalm 89 for more.
How does a parent cope when their twenty-year-old son's heart unexpectedly stops beating? Where does a ten-year-old turn when his family is undone through his parents' divorce? What will give hope to the veteran undergoing surgery yet again for issues from his military service? Psalm 46 exhorts us to put our faith in God, come what may. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
So much focus in a church service can be on the music. "Worship" encompasses far more than music, but how can we be confident our worship is acceptable to God? When Isaiah had the vision of the temple of the Lord, he was undone because of his sin. Is that how God perceives our worship? In Jesus Christ, we can rejoice that our worship is acceptable. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
Sickness and death is pervasive, and we go through seasons where mortality seems to be everywhere. So how in the world can we have confidence in God to face such hardship? Psalm 16 holds out to us that if we find our refuge in God we will be secure in him forever. Listen to this sermon by Pastor Jacob Hatfield, of Grace Bible Church of Monticello, for more.
You know of those people who are famous for being famous. They know how to market themselves and distribute viral content. The presence of this kind of celebrity leads one to conclude, "In a secular age, celebrity itself is the closest thing we have to transcendence." May we not succumb to such delusions by transfixing on the transcendent. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
Having marked our second anniversary as a church, we need to pivot from a start-up mentality for our pastoral team to one that is more sustainable for the long haul. As such, the pastoral team is inclined to proactively plan for how best to lead and serve the church to position us to most faithfully make advances in establishing healthy churches. Listen to this episode from Pastor Brett and connect with a pastor to share your input.
Everyone knows the line from Handel's Messiah, "The Lord God omnipotent reigneth - Hallelujah!" Yet the masterpiece quotes as well from a psalm that can make us squirm with its raw emotion and the longest section of imprecatory prayer in the Psalms. How do we benefit from this psalm? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Psalm 69 for more.
Following Christ is no low bar; he requires so much of us. Yet Jesus is the only who gives more than what he requires. When the burden of following him seems too much, look to all that Jesus has provided. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
As much as you or your kids may love bubbles or are in awe of their simple beauty, you don't give much thought to them when they pop. You know that they come and go. The same should be our disposition towards the opinions of others about us. Don't live out of the fear of man just like you wouldn't be invested in the longevity of a bubble. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
The context of a song impacts its significance. Horatio Spafford's "When Peace Like a River" is a prime example. Psalm 34 is another. When we reckon with the experience of God's deliverance celebrated, we gain a greater appreciation for tasting God's goodness and hoping in his redemption. Listen to Pastor Brian's sermon on Psalm 34 for more.
Pastor Brett shares about the vision driving the pastors' to lead in the beginning of Discipleship Classes this fall as well as addressing some of the logistics planned for those classes.
Our existence is marked by constant conflict. It comes about when a desire is rejected or actively opposed. We deal with conflict in many different ways, but they are not all the way we should handle conflict. We should face conflict in dependence on our Father in Heaven. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
Hold a single grain of sand between your forefinger and thumb. Extend your arm fully up to the sky. How much of the sky is framed behind that grain of sand? The first images of the Webb Space Telescope reveal galaxies are in that space. And they lead us to exult in the Lord. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Psalm 8 for more.
A parakeet flying around a workshop might not be so readily caught by hand nor with the aid of a net. But when a bird cage is set out with the door open, by the next morning the bird willfully goes back to captivity. We might readily avoid the marquis sins that try to capture us outright, but what about the subtlety of love of the world? Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
Getting lost in the wood is an unsettling experience, especially with a thunderstorm rolling in. All you need to do is get one thing: your cabin. Once there, you have everything you need. Psalm 23 points us to the same reality. All we need is one thing that will provide everything. That one thing is the Shepherd. Listen to Jordan Hecox, lead planter of Gospel Joy Church, for more on this iconic psalm.
If you want to see marked improvement in some facet of your life, if you want to succeed at doing hard things, you need to cultivate grit. Merely spending 10,000 hours in practice won’t actually make you an expert in that area. You need to give yourself to "deliberate practice." The same is true in the Christian life as we learn to do good. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Titus 3:8-15 for more.
The different rhythms and pace of a Minnesota summer are a beautiful thing. As many of the things we give ourselves to during the rest of the year are put on pause or slowed down, we don't let off the gas in following Christ in all of life. Listen to Pastor Brett give a quick refresh on how Discipleship Groups are aiming to help us do that well.
Paul makes a similar argument in Titus 3:1-7 as he does in 2:1-14—why the repetition? He's pressing the only viable path of godly living, the gospel, out from church life and into all of life. We ought to adorn the doctrine not just among the purified people purchased for his possession but in all spheres of life—don't withdraw from the marketplace or public square. Rather, embrace the eschatological reality that you are heirs. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
As we come upon our second anniversary as a church, it is good to be reminded about what we're doing in public worship and especially during the exhortation portion of our liturgy. We gather to reorient on the gospel, worshiping God. To do so, we must confess and turn from sin. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
In the face of significant suffering, what is it that we think will provide respite? So often we think it is if we knew why or how long, our suffering would be more tolerable. At the greatest experience of suffering, Christ on the cross, no one looking had the understanding of what was happening. In suffering, it is better to trust God rather than know more. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
The agave plant grows in the western deserts of North America. It only blossoms once in the final year of its lifespan, which at times can be up to twenty years. When the blossoming stock develops, it shoots up at a rate of a foot per day. The kingdom of God is like an agave plant. It can be a lifetime in the desert, waiting, but glory is coming. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Titus 2:11-15 for more.
The iPhone's "portrait mode" focuses on the picture's subject and blurs everything else. We can do the same thing in our lives by focusing on something we don't know if, when, or how it will turn out to the neglect of all the other good things God is doing. There are times when God restricts our knowledge, and we have to trust him that it is good not to know. But do we? Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
When your wife wears her pearls, they don't make her beautiful or increase her beauty. They accentuate and draw attention to her beauty. They adorn it. Living godly lives, doing good works, likewise doesn't make us Christian or improve upon the gospel—such a life adorns the gospel. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Titus 2:1-10 for more.
With fuel prices soaring, maybe you've looked over at the diesel pump and wondered if it would get you better mileage in your gas engine. It won't. It will ruin your engine. Likewise, if we look to law keeping to grow in godliness rather than the gospel, it won't work. We need the unleaded, high octane gospel to live godly lives. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Titus 1:10-16 for more.
Pentecost Sunday is the Christian holiday that marks the historic day when the Holy Spirit was poured out on God's redeemed people. It's a holiday that is often overlooked, yet Jesus said it is better for him to ascend to the Father so that the Spirit would come. What pride to think otherwise. Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation for more.
At Westview, we aim to be following Christ in all of life. But we do not follow like we follow a workout plan or even a guru. This is because our problem is not mainly that we need to know something to improve. We need a Christ to save us. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
Healthy churches are going to push authority in one of two directions: up or down. Examples abound of wrongdoing when authority is consolidated and centralized in a local church. As a congregational church, authority is in the congregation who responsible to appoint qualified pastors. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Titus 1:5-9 for what those pastors should be like.
Boasting is typically something we ought to avoid. It reveals our prideful disposition. And yet Paul commends boasting—boasting in Christ. We ought to glory in Christ. We don't just know things about him but rejoice and exult in who he is. We find him to be our soul's delight. And when we don't, we turn in repentance. Listen to David Stabley's exhortation for more.
As a church, we have summarized our aim is to be following Christ in all of life by pursuing gospel growth, joyful mission, and generous hospitality. However, all of that should be thrown aside if it doesn't align with what the Bible says a church should do and be. Enter: The Letter of Paul to Titus. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Titus 1:1-4 for more.
When you venture into the wilderness, there are numerous contingencies you need to be ready to handle. However, more often than not, your greatest danger in a remote location is ... yourself. The same is true spiritually—only you commit your sins. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
American sociologist Charles Horton Cooley conceived of personal identity in relation to our interactions with others, saying, "I am not who I think I am. I am not who you think I am. I am who I think you think I am." When we come to biblical accounts like Jonah, it's important we consider, "Am I what I think the Bible thinks I am? How am I more like angry Jonah than the repentant Ninevites?" Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Jonah 4 for more.
When a skydiver impacted the ground without a chute only to have landed atop a fire ant hill, it seemed to add insult to injury. When Jonah, or Christians today, speak of God's judgment in addition to sin and holiness, it seems to do the same. However, God's mercy may be on display in an unexpected way through such "insult." Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Jonah 3 for more.
There is a tragic irony that our culture hates motherhood, expressed through a religious devotion to Roe v. Wade, yet wants to esteem mothers at least one special day a year. Recognizing God's design, it is distinctly Christian to celebrate the vocation of motherhood. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
A little girl struggling in frustration and cries to buckle a doll into a stroller without asking mom for help is a clearer display of our own efforts to go about our lives absent of reliance on God than most of us would care to admit. It is that kind of self-assertion that we see in Jonah 2. Listen to Pastor Zach's sermon for more.
Elon Musk once described how he came to his current place in life by reading a lot of books and talking with a lot of people. That sounds wise as we hear Proverbs repeatedly call us to listen to wise counselors. Yet do we have a posture like that, that seeks counsel? Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
A counselor heard the confession of a client about an obsession with eating a particular flavor and brand of ice cream in an unhealthy way. The counselor didn't think it too big of an issue until he happened upon the ice cream and consumed a whole carton himself. When we make opportunity for temptation, we put ourselves in a dangerous position. Listen to Pastor Brian's exhortation to make no provision for the flesh.
Doing hard things the Lord calls us to can be hard for different reasons: the magnitude of the task, the imprecision of the calling, or our own sin. The prophet Jonah is called to a hard thing, but it is complicated by his own sin. It is better, though, to be in uncomfortable obedience to God than to live easily in defiance of him. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Jonah 1:1-16 for more.
"How is it going?" It's a simple question that can also be revealing or comforting depending on the one asking. It can unveil all kinds of issues simmering beneath the surface. However, we a problem that goes far deeper than any well-intentioned questioner can resolve. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Romans 8:1-11 for more.
There is a theme of unbelief as you survey the Gospels. Thomas is the prime example upon his hearing of the resurrection of Jesus. We can look down on him for such unbelief, but what are we afraid of losing that keeps us from walking in faith-filled obedience to Christ? Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
Can it be possible for news to be too good? Romans 3:21-26 sure is as the Apostle Paul details the solution of the millennia-old problem of how sinful people can be made righteous and God remain just, seeing to it that the guilty receive due penalty. The answer is that God the Son made propitiation by his blood. Listen to David Stabley sermon for more.
The tapir is a strange looking animal with its hog-like body, nose like that of an elephant trunk but short and stocky, and oddly shaped feet with pronounced toes. Yet the tapir never feels the need to apologize for its strangeness. Christians are just as strange to this world, yet too often we do feel the need to explain or excuse our strangeness. We do well to consider the tapir and follow suit. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
What do you think of when you hear the word "curse"? Perhaps you think of fairy tales where the protagonist is cursed by some evildoer. More than a mere story, we all live under the curse of God because of sin. So how is it then that God's curse on us could be reversed that we would live and not die? Listen to Brian Wiseman's sermon on Galatians 3:10-14 for more.
Jesus spoke most harshly not towards adulterers, prostitutes, or murderers but hypocrites. You may have been shocked when a beloved movie character ends up not being the same as the real life actor. They were playing a part. Doing that same thing in our Christian life is intolerable. Listen to David Stabley's exhortation for more.
If we have been given the means of life in written words, we do well to devote ourselves to read them, study them, and share them. In this session from the 2022 Spring women's seminar, Kelina Toney shares the impact the Word of Life has had on her and leads a workshop on how to study the Word yourself.
We are constantly being bombarded with messages that aim to shape who we are and what we love. In the sixteen waking hours of a day, what will you devote yourself to in order to have the best messages shape you? By learning more about what the Bible is, may we grow in our affections for it. Listen to Pastor Brett's talk on the doctrine of Scripture for more.
Promise is one of the most powerful and potent things mankind has ever known. True promise has been the impetus of exploration and investment. Yet promises without fulfillment is worthless; such promises are the kind made by sin. God promises so much more in the gospel that is being fulfilled. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
There are different aspects or emphases to consider in thinking about atonement. The Passover keys in on redemption. The Day of Atonement, however, draws out the themes of propitiation and expiation while conveying the inadequacies of animal sacrifices. This special day was always intended to point God's people forward to the fulfillment of his promises in Christ. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Leviticus 16 for more.
As Christians, we stake our hope on the promise that Christ will come and bring to completion what he began in his death and resurrection. However, the air we breathe in our context is one of cynicism. We can be jaded with doubt and unbelief, even the promise of Christ's return. Listen to Brian's exhortation for more.
The Sunshine Protection Act of 2019 would end the biannual practice of re-orienting our days through adjusting for Daylight Saving Time. However, a far more societal change came when God grounded his delivering work through the Exodus on the death of a lamb. Israel would forever change their calendars for their year to begin with commemorating this event. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Exodus 12:1-28 as we press in to how are sin before a holy God is dealt with.
Peter concludes his letter with a few key, final reminders he wants us to walk away with. Count the patience of God as salvation. Don't follow the error of lawless people. Grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. These themes of the letter get pulled together in these closing verses. Listen to Pastor Haakon's sermon on 2 Peter 3:15-18 for more.
The good news of the gospel is that we will be with God for eternity. We will respond perfectly to the true perfection of his character. However, in this life, we so often do not feel appropriately in response to the truth we observe. That is, we struggle to pursue God in worship. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
There are seasons of waiting we all go through: engagement before marriage, leading up to the birth of a child, paperwork to be completed for buying a home, interview processes for jobs. Whatever it is, waiting is hard, and none of us like it. That is where we presently are in the Christian life—in a season of waiting. So what kind of people ought we to be? Listen to this sermon on 2 Peter 3:11-14 by Pastor Kenny Ortiz from Cities Church for more.
King Saul disobeyed the clear command of the Lord when coming against the Amalekites and claimed his failure came from a desire to make a sacrifice. Yet he was judged and removed from his position due to his disobedience. Our ceremonial functions likewise must flow from a heart of obedience. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
What would you do if you would never be found out? Maybe like D.B. Cooper, you'd come up with a way to get a bucketload of cash without anyone getting hurt. No fear of judgment has a way of leading to poor choices. How much more so if we don't think Christ is returning in judgment? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 2 Peter 3:1-10 for more.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces is an unnerving situation to imagine being in. What might it be like to have fighter jets flying over your home? It is hard to think of such things happening largely because we are at peace. Peacetime can keep you from such readiness for war. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more on the spiritual dynamic of how this plays out.
The responsibility of a church to appoint a man to the office of pastor is an important one. In January, the pastoral team recommended that Brian Wiseman be so appointed. So Pastor Brett sat down with Brian for a conversation to help you get to know him better.
Jesus told a parable about someone who spent all they had to gain a treasure in a field. Paul talked about being willing to lose everything to gain Christ. Do you think of your life in Christ in such terms, not just giving but more actively spending to gain more of Christ? Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
You're hiking around some cliffs when your children get too close to the edge. Is yelling, "Stop!" ungracious or unloving if the kids thought so as it ended their game? Of course not, a stern warning can be an act of love to convey grace. Peter's further characterization of false teachers serves as such a warning lest we follow them off the cliff. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 2 Peter 2:10-22 for more.
It isn't too hard to slip into a level of comfort and ease in our understanding of Scripture. In 2 Peter 2:1-10, Peter pivots from holding out right doctrine to a warning that false teaching can from among us. We avoid such error by enduring in faith in the one who knows how to rescue. Listen to Pastor Haakon's sermon for more.
"Evangelicals" like us rightly focus on the gospel and a call to respond to it in faith. However, we can often think of faith as one tool in our theological tool box that is taken out when discussing evangelism and salvation and then put away. Listen to Pastor Dan's exhortation to rather carry on in faith in all of life.
We do not worship God that people made up a long time ago to make themselves feel better. We worship a God who is real. We worship a God who has revealed himself to us, both in his creation and in his Word. Rejoice in your real Lord. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
"The Joe Rogan Experience" is a podcast with typically lengthy and pot-stirring episodes. Recently, Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson was on and made a profound statement about the foundational truthfulness of the Bible. It caused a bit of a stir. Yet when Peter makes a similar claim, we can breeze over it. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 2 Peter 1:20-21 for more.
As we carry on as a church, it can be increasingly challenging to become complacent. Yet as Christians, we are called to do the work of the ministry—not the pastors only or paid professionals. Abandon the mindset that ministry just what is done up front on Sundays. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
The life-altering, world-shaping theological truths of 2 Peter 1:1-11 are like shampoo—lather, rinse, repeat. Go on remembering the central claims of apostolic message, namely that Jesus Christ will return in power to establish his eternal kingdom. We know this to be true because Christ's majesty has been seen in person and testified to throughout the Old Testament. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 2 Peter 1:12-19 for more.
On a cold winter day, how do you get your car to warm up? Not by rubbing your hands together or running around it or blowing warm breath—you need to start the car. We can make all kinds of efforts but a prior activity is required first. Listen to Marshall Segal's sermon on 2 Peter 1:5-11 in drawing out how we make effort because God has first started the car.
Everywhere you look in Scripture, when God gives authority, responsibility and accountability are coupled with it. Whether it was a unique role like Moses or the special office of king or pastors today, God gives authority but also accountability. This is a reflection of God's character. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation to love God's authority.
There are times when you need to know what you know. You need to have a confidence and certainty in your knowledge because of the situation. Before the apostle starts in on addressing false teachers, he begins 2 Peter by focusing on what we as Christians need to be confident of. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 2 Peter 1:1-4 for more.
Gen Z has never known a time without the connection of smartphones, yet studies show this generation reports the highest sense of isolation and loneliness. The prevalence of smartphones has served to hide ourselves rather than connect us to other. This hiding is an expression of shame. Listen to Brian Wiseman's exhortation to us to put away shame by drawing near to God.
"Tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!” It may not be Braveheart but certain lines from movies draw us in and summon us to action. We are likewise summoned to action in 1 Peter 5:8-14 as we must be ready to face a fearful lion. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
What is more valuable, the goose or the golden egg—a fish or knowing how to fish? While wisdom is at the basis of any kind of value, data and information alone does not constitute wisdom. This holds true in our relation to God. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
The tornado that recently tore through 200 miles of Kentucky demonstrated power that humbled all who were in its path. No one needed to be told to get down upon experiencing that display of greatness. Yet we need to be told to humble ourselves before God. Listen to Pastor Zach's sermon on 1 Peter 5:6-7 for more.
"I didn't get to it." "I was too busy." "I didn't have time." Those phrases or similar ones really are just deflections helping you avoid the reality that you prioritized something else over the task in question. There are 8,760 hours this year. How will you make the time to do what serves your soul best? Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
In addressing elders and the church as a whole, he keys in on the necessity of humility to mark both groups. In the complementing roles of leading and following, shepherding and submitting, humility is to be the hallmark of both. And this because it is the way of the Chief Shepherd. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Peter 5:1-5 for more.
In Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Scrooge says at the end after his transformation, "I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." We can't actually keep the centrality of Christmas all year—that centrality is that Christ is king. However, we would rather do what is right in our own eyes rather than follow Christ as king. Listen to Pastor Dan's exhortation for more.
At our Christmas Eve service we let the prophet Isaiah stir our anticipation for and joy in the coming of Christ our Savior. Listen as Pastor Dan and Pastor Brett share exhortations flowing from Isaiah's writings in the hope, faith, joy, and peace of Christ.
"Which way ought I go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." "I don't much care where." "Then it doesn't matter which way you go." This exchange from "Alice in Wonderland" is worthwhile to consider in our pursuit of following Christ in all of life. If you don't care where you go, you'll never get there. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
According to one source, there have been 117 billion people that have ever lived. There are about 8 billion people currently on the planet. Thinking of all those people, we can feel small and alone. Add in the isolating effects of suffering, and it gets worse. Yet God became one of the 117 billion that we would know our lament is not the last word. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Lamentations 5 for more.
During this time of the year, we can place high expectations on all the things we want to do and get done. However, if we go about all of those good things in such a rigid, graceless fashion, we do them in vain. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation and consider that you might be a Pharisee if ... .
As a young British officer, George Washington addressed the officers under his charge, "Remember that it is the actions, and not the commission, that make the officer, and that there is more expected from him, than the title." Much of the pain in our lives that we lament is the result of our leaders who failed to heed that counsel. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Lamentations 4 for more.
Reading good books draws you into the story and heightens the tension as we experience the drama of the main characters. Sometimes it can get intense for us as readers, leading us to ask, "Why does the dramatic part have to last so long?!" In the Greatest Story God is writing, this is the question we ask in lament. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
So many of our memories of Christmas are from childhood, and so much of our focus on the Christmas story is on the infant Christ. Yet we overlook the intervening years. Imagine all those years as a boy growing up, living obediently to the Father in the repetitive small things. We too must live obediently in the small things. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
You see a friend on a Sunday who clearly looks burdened by sorrow. He's a father of six whose infant daughter died five years ago and wife died two years ago. Now, his oldest son may be paralyzed from a combat injury. What do you say to him? How is this happiest time of year when there is still so much sorrow? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon as we learn to lament this Advent.
The cultural phenomenon of "preppers" is grounded in a desire for self-sufficiency. Such a motivation stands in opposition to the biblical call to love God and love neighbor. It is for this two-fold summons that Paul commends the Thessalonians, and thus holds out to us that we might abound in faith and love. Listen to Pastor Dan's exhortation for more.
What do you think of when you consider Jesus' commendation of children? Odds are it is a passive posture. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation to take an active, humble posture that continues to ask questions of God, lest we think we've learned it all.
There are those days that you readily remember with vivid detail—the special days where it is easy to rejoice. But not all days are like that, and it is a battle to press into the deep-seated, enduring hope of the promises of God. 1 Peter 4:12-19 offers five exhortations to help us rejoice in suffering. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
We are not in a financial position where we are desperate for year-end gifts to meet our expenses, but we are looking ahead to 2022 and beyond and asking the Lord to bless us that his way may be known on earth (cf. Psalm 67).
Before a child tries cake for the first time, you can pull out the most decadent cake and she will think nothing of it. But after having had a bite? "Give it to me!" Psalm 34:8 exhorts us to taste and see the Lord is good. Have you tried cake? Revive your yearning for the goodness of the Lord by fasting from good gifts. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
Often, a helpful framework to advance a discussion among a group is to distinguish between principles and practices. Where are there differences between fundamental principles verses the outworking in practices? When looking at 1 Peter 4:7-11, it is helpful to clarify the fundamental principles of coming judgment, implications for living as Christians, and the certainly of the glory of Christ. Listen to Pastor Haakon's sermon for more.
Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor from the 20th century, brought attention to the persecuted church through his own sufferings and writings. He said, "A faith that can be destroyed by suffering is not faith." How do we prepare ourselves to suffer well so our faith is not destroyed? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Peter 4:1-6 for more.
As the end of the year slowly comes into sight, we begin to think about the finances God has entrusted to us. From purchasing gifts and special meals, we must take into consideration two ditches we can fall into as it relates to money. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
Why did God save me? It's a question that can intellectually challenging and emotionally straining. Why has God blessed me as he has? It's a question that comes to the same answer as the first: that God might be known on earth. Listen to Dr. Paul Akin, Dean of the School of Missions at Southern Seminary, expound on Psalm 67.
If you have a solid, reliable move to juke around your opponent on the soccer pitch, stick with it. Having only one move can do the trick. Yet beware of sin's one move: deceit. When you give yourself to sin, what lie are you believing? Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
Facebook says social media and "faith communities" are both fundamentally about connection. Really? Is it? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Peter 3:18-22 where Peter makes the connection between what we are fundamentally about and our call to suffer for doing good.
Light pollution obscures the natural wonder of a clear night sky that exists to declare to declare the glory of God. Nearly any idolatry or sin can be traced back to a failure to honor God as the one who is the Creator of this splendor. Listen to Brian Wiseman's exhortation for more.
Winston Churchill famously summoned his countrymen to a firm resolve in the harrowing days of the Battle of Britain. While our struggle to press on in the Christian life may not always be as visibly threatening, it is nonetheless far more perilous. Listen to Pastor Jason Harrison, from Redeemer Bible Church, call us to stand firm in the Lord.
Early morning meetings and commitments that go late into the evening can eat away at the margins of our day. And when multiple days in a row are like that, it can be increasingly challenging to make room for Bible reading and prayer. And yet that is the very thing we need—we need to make time to get alone with God. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
Christians limp along in this fallen world due to sin and suffering, yet we do so in the hope of a holy Christ. Listen to Jonathon Woodyard, Dean of Admissions at Bethlehem College & Seminary, show from 1 Peter 3:13-17 how Jesus is on our side in the midst of trouble.
Country music and Christians sometimes can share something in common: a love for nostalgia. There can be the sense of loving how things used to be, when instead we need to look ahead to how they could be. We do that by playing more offense. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
Benjamin Franklin notably made an earnest effort at self-improvement by compiling a list of thirteen virtues, keeping tabs each day on how well he lived them out. When we come across a list of virtues or exhortations on how to live, we don't follow Franklin's example. Rather, we make grace-driven effort to apply the gospel by faith to our lives. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Peter 3:8-12 for more.
When a teacher calls on students to pull a piece of paper out for a pop quiz, a common question is, "Will this count for our final grade?" Yes, it all counts. How much more so is it true in the Christian life? Every day, every moment, has an impact on eternity. Listen to Pastor Dan's exhortation for more.
What might camping up north and prayer have in common? Proper expectations are needed for both. Lots of variables come into play when camping, especially with kids. Properly calibrated expectations help the trip go well. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for what expectations we ought to bring to prayer.
There's a Latin phrase that has been said to capture the essence of the Christian life: coram Deo. It means to live as though you are in the presence of God. Live knowing God sees. When it comes to our roles and responsibilities within marriage, we carry them out coram Deo. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Peter 3:1-7 for more.
What motivates you to do something you don't really want to do? Reward? Removal of consequences? Internal drive to be the best? Guilt? As Peter makes his second application to how Christians ought to relate to authority, he gives a strong, two-fold motivator by pointing to our calling and Christ's example. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
When the fog won't lift and the joy of the Lord you once knew seems distant, where do you turn? It is for those hard times that we must treasure the Word in the good times. Listen to Pastor Dan's exhort us as an outflow of his months of hardship.
Children scooting ever closer to the birthday girl opening presents illustrates our own hearts on seeing the blessings of others. Yet our hearts are more sinister. The problem with our covetous hearts is we are trying to satisfy our longings with what only can be accomplished through redemption. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
God was wondrously made a new people who are united by faith through the death and resurrection of Jesus. As a new nation, citizens of another country, what do we do with those people in this place of our exile who are in authority over us? In particular, how do we now relate to the government? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on 1 Peter 2:13-17.
Pastor Dan stepped back from his pastoral responsibilities in March of this year after a taxing struggle with COVID. However, the struggle was not merely physical as it quickly took on a spiritual dynamic. He wrestled with many of the challenges of depression until more recently when the darkness finally lifted. Listen to him share about the past few months and the Lord's faithfulness in the midst of it.
When we move towards other people to seek to further invest in and develop the relationship—whether in marriage, at work, with neighbors—we will encounter conflict. This is no different in the church. However, we must handle conflict in a way consistent with the gospel. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
If you're going to put a fence in, you need dig deep to set the fence posts in correctly. That way they can stand up under the weight of the fence and the pressures of changing seasons. Peter wants to set us deep by teaching us about who we are as a new people in Christ so that we will endure in faithfulness. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
We don't need any help craving. From the moment of our birth, we yearning for things. Some desires are good and proper, like that of a newborn for milk. It is proper to desire life-sustaining nourishment. Other thirsts are ... not so good. This is why we must reorient on the gospel that we would be fed with all that God intends so that we would persevere through our exile. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
A skinny chef. An honest politician. A mechanic with clean hands. The descriptions don’t exactly match the role. Neither does “ungodly evangelist.” In our zeal to press into the joyful mission, we can focus on all the right arguments and tactics yet overlook the basic call to be a Christ-like witness. If we are going to make a winsome call to the world of the hope of the gospel, we must live like we believe it. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
Our culture is confused about love. Two common directions the confusion goes is toward an overly emotive view that is all about butterflies in your stomach. Another direction is toward moral relativism; "love is love." Both confused directions have the self at the center. However, the clear teaching of God's Word points us another direction: love sincerely from a pure heart. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
After spending 100 days completely alone in the wilderness as part of a reality TV show, the winner reflected on the moment. Over the course of his isolation, he shared how he loved being alone. Yet at the victory, he reflects on the most significant relationship of his life. God did not make us to be alone but to press into relationships. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
The HMS Queen Elizabeth is a new, state-of-the-art British aircraft carrier that powers its propellers in a new way. The engines are located throughout the ship and massive electrical lines power the propellers. Sailors have to be focused when they're in a compartment with the electrical lines; a wrong move could be fatal. It's a situation where familiarity breeding contempt could be very dangerous. A parallel dynamic is at work in 1 Peter 1:17-21. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
It would be insanity for a driver to turn the rearview mirror while driving to only be able to see her own face and gaze directly into the mirror, being unconcerned with where she is going or what's happening on the road. Such is the folly of pride, regardless of the form it takes. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation to turn the mirror.
Peter tells us at the end of his first epistle that he wrote the letter to declare and exhort his readers concerning the true grace of God. This is evident earlier in the letter as declares the truth of the gospel written of by the prophets and exhorts us to have thoughtful hope and consistent holiness. Listen to Pastor Haakon's sermon on 1 Peter 1:10-16 for more.
Dorothy Sayers once wrote about envy saying, " It begins by asking, plausibly, ‘Why should I not enjoy what others enjoy?’ and it ends by demanding, ‘Why should others enjoy what I may not?’” That's the discontented progression of this "respectable sin." Where do you look at others' rejoicing not to share in their rejoicing but with sinful longing? Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
John Lennon's song "Imagine" begins "Imagine there's no heaven / It's easy if you try / No hell below us / Above us, only sky / Imagine all the people / Livin' for today." That worldview works ... until it doesn't. When suffering and hardship comes, how well will "livin' for today" work? We're pointed to something far better in 1 Peter 1:6-9 when we are grieved by various trials. Listen to Pastor Zach's sermon for more.
When sinful anxiety takes hold of your thoughts and emotions, how do you respond? Continuing to mull over what it is that you are anxious about fails to take into account your inability to resolve the issue. Rather, we can pray and entrust those burdens to our Father in Heaven who has broad shoulders to bear them. Listen to Brian Wiseman's exhortation for more.
Pickles are preserved through canning as the flame heats the water to boiling and the jars are sealed in the water. We ought to take hope in the midst of exile knowing that just as we have been caused to be born again by God's great mercy, so he will keep us by that same mercy. He preserves us by guarding us with the flame of his power through the boiling water of our faith. You have faith in Christ? Blessed be God! Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
"Doctrine" can sound academic, stuffy, unrelatable. But "doctrine" is just what the Bible teaches, and we should never settle for a shallow understanding of what God has revealed in the Bible. The Bible is academic and devotional, challenging and rewarding, transcendent and imminent. We should dig in to doctrine. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
The “honeymoon phase” of a new purchase, relationship, or experience can be an enjoyable time period, but it can also mask underlying issues. As a church, we’ve enjoyed wonderful unity in the midst of a very unified year in the world. But may such unity not merely be a phase but the Spirit’s work among as we press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Listen to Pastor Brett’s exhortation for more.
When you’re paddling in the front of the canoe and not responsible for navigation, you can feel like you’re expending a lot of energy to go somewhere but aimless in where you’re going. At the beginning of this new series in 1 Peter, we’re given orientation to where we’re going in the midst of our exile as Peter points to our hope in the Triune God. Listen to Pastor Brett’s sermon on 1 Peter 1:1-2 for more.
A common theme in novels and movies is for the conflict to look the bleakest just before the final victory arrives. Those stories are written that way because that's how God writes the greatest story: the Son of God dies in apparent defeat just before being risen to ultimate victory. It is the same pattern as the final vision of Daniel is communicated. God's people have reason to hope in the face of suffering because the victory is sure. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
Do you use your Christian freedom more like a pass or a shovel? Do you view your freedom as the ticket that gives you the license to do something? Or do you view your freedom to do this or that as a Christian as a tool that will be constructive and build up? Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
Climb to the top of Yosemite Falls, all 2,500 feet of it, and you'll find at the top no guardrail or fence. Only the foolish walk up to the edge and peer over. But if there was a fence deeply anchored in the granite, that would change things. Daniel 11 reveals God's meticulous sovereignty over the future to be like a fence on a lofty overlook—it provides confidence where only fear and anxiety would otherwise be. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
Who appreciates a the scent of a rotting fish or spoiled fruit? Why then would we speak words that do not give grace to those who hear us? Our speech can do so much good and so much harm. We ought to give more attention to what we say and what we choose not to say. Listen to Brian Wiseman's exhortation for more.
"Cancel culture" disciples us to play up any semblance of victimhood and glory in being offended. That is not the way of following Christ in all of life. Christian, we ought to entrust ourselves to a faithful Creator when we suffer according to God's will and glory in overlooking offense. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
In our materialistic society, the mantra "science is real" lends to a worldview that says the supernatural is a fairy tale for children. But even a peacock or the human eye captures wonder that point beyond this world. And the struggle we are in with suffering and sorrow likewise extends beyond this world. There are unseen actors at work influencing the course of human history. Listen to Pastor Haakon's sermon on Daniel 10.
Much attention in Daniel 9 is given to the last four verses, however when we look at the chapter in full, we see more of God's purpose in revealing a mysterious vision about 70 "weeks." God answered a prayer about a promise of 70 years, and he was going to do far more than one prophet could ask or imagine in fulfilling that promise. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Daniel 9 for more.
In the midst of a month dedicated by our culture to celebrating sin and rebellion, the temptation might not be to cave and go with the flow. Rather, we may be inclined to apologize for God's Word and standard for human sexuality. We ought instead to love the standard, and love what God has created. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
"Home is where the heart is" yet Jesus says our heart is where our treasure is. "Home" can so easily become our greatest treasure. Even as we seek a "home" as a church, we must be watchful to not let a place take prominence. After all, it is not the things in the presence of the Lord that provides the fullness of joy, rather we are made full of gladness with his presence. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
When you've got sinus pressure that last a few days, it feels like it never end. How much more so when walking through far greater suffering? Daniel 8 was revealed and written for your encouragement. God knows the future, reveals it as he wills, and sets the limits and parameters of the suffering his people will experience. Take hope; your suffering is not boundless and unending. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
The last half of Daniel is pretty weird—let's be honest. But this type of writing, "apocalyptic," is intended to encourage us to persevere in the midst of suffering and sin in this world by seeing that God reigns over all and will be victorious. Yet as we come to the end of Daniel 7, we see that such a grand vision does not instantly change our circumstances, and we lament. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
As we pray for God to call new disciples to himself—the great task he has commissioned us for (Matthew 28:18-20)—we too often can go about it as though such a work is entirely dependent on us. Such a work is not dependent on cleverly devised myths or words of eloquent wisdom or lofty speech and wisdom. Rather, it is depend on God, so we pray. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
Of the currently top 150 worship songs played in churches in the U.S., zero are songs of lament. Contrast that with a third of the Psalms. Lament is a necessary practice in following Christ because we live in a sinful and broken world, and expressing our sorrow to God is the right way of handling such difficulties. Listen to Max Kozak, pastoral resident at Cities Church, expound on Psalm 43 to help us learn to know what to do in the valley.
The weightlifter who actually holds up the full weight is the one who feels the pressure of the weight, not the one who attempts it but fails. When we pray, "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil," we have a hope that we will bear up under the weight of trials, temptations, and the ways of the Evil One because we are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
Whether sins or debts, Christians ought to be ready to forgive because of how much we have been forgiven in Christ. We've breathed in deeply of the grace of God and need not hold that breath in. As we continue in our prayer focus, listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation that we would be increasingly shaped by the gospel.
Ships used to attempt to sink a submarine by dropping an explosive called a "depth charge." It wasn't just a device dropped in the ocean at random but deployed with a purpose. Daniel—and all the elect exiles—are "depth charges" not just waiting in exile but sent there for the glory of God. And such deployment may require disobeying the government. Listen to Pastor Zach's sermon on Daniel 6 for more.
Asking for "daily bread" can get turned to presuming to know what it is that we need rather than a request for God to provide the sufficient and necessary grace for today. In God's providential wisdom, there may be good cause for him to give a stone when we ask for bread or a snake when we ask for fish. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
A day is coming when the Lord will require of us our soul; he will hold us to account for our actions. We can go on for some time thinking we are perfectly free to do as we will—we can enrich ourselves or seem to have great power over our lives—yet God will see to it that it is plain that he holds our breath in his hand. God is meticulously sovereign over all things. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Daniel 5 for more.
Theologians have articulated two wills that God has, his will of decree and will of command. Or it could be thought of as his story and his specific. So when we pray as Jesus taught us, "Your will be done," we are praying that God's will of command would come about. We want to want what God wants to happen in these Cities—that happens when we pray. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
God will move and act to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted. This is on display in Daniel 4 has God acts to convey to a watching world that he rules and reigns over all despite the appearances that King Nebuchadnezzar is in control. What will it take for you to be humbled before the Lord Jesus? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
A Scottish pastor, Thomas Chalmers, two-hundred years ago preached a sermon called, "The Expulsive Power of a New Affection." Chalmers argues we can turn from sin by seeing its vanity or finding something better. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were ready to face death in the furnace rather than willfully sin because they knew something better. They knew the person and character of the LORD God. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
The second petition of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples is a bit different wording. Your kingdom come? Like with knights and a round table? How does a kingdom come? Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation to be spurred on to pray this request so that God's kingly reign would be more evident in our world.
The itch everyone is most eager to have scratched when reading about visions and dreams is what the particulars are about. While Daniel 2 does speak to the kingdoms of man yet to come as anticipated in the dream recorded, we see that the same point of the dream is conveyed throughout the chapter. Namely, God is in control despite present appearances and will move to provide for his people. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
The first petition of the prayer Jesus taught his disciples is, "Our Father, hallowed be your name." First and foremost, we pray for God to be rightly regarded as holy. This is his chief aim in all of creation, yet we so readily pursue our own glory. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
Coming down from the emotional high of the exuberance of Resurrection Sunday and going on with a week that seems like any other can leave us with the sense that the promises of the resurrection just aren't what they seem. That's when we're reminded that we are exiles, like Daniel, and need to hope in God's sovereign presence in our sojourning. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Daniel 1:1-21 for more.
In calls to not waste your life or to be a radical disciple of Jesus, we can lose sight of the good in being faithful in the relatively mundane, little things of life. Doing big, grand things for the sake of Christ is commendable but so is doing the easily overlooked. Listen to more of Pastor Zach' exhortation to be faithful in the little things.
We are starting an eight-week initiative, "Seek & Search," to especially commit ourselves as a church to seeking the Lord in his Word and prayer. We are desiring to foster gospel growth by seeking God in his Word, enflame joyful mission by seeking the Spirit to move, and advance generous hospitality by searching for a space. Listen to Pastor Haakon explain more about this Spring prayer focus in this commissioning exhortation.
Good stories bring you into the experience of the characters. Mark ends his Gospel as a good story, leaving questions unanswered and putting the onus on his readers to respond to the testimony he's captured regarding the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. How will you respond to the empty tomb? Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Mark 16:1-8 for more.
Marcus Aurelius once said, "Death smiles at us all, but all a man can do is smile back." Such a hopeless worldview does not know the death-defeating power of the resurrected Christ. No, rather Christians ought to put death in its place. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
The death of Christ is a clear display of the gravity of our sin and rebellion against a holy God. It required the death of God's own Son to assuage the just punishment for sinners. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation from our Good Friday service for more.
The Thursday before Easter is known as "Maundy Thursday," from the Latin 'maundatum' meaning "commandment." It was at the Last Supper on that Thursday where Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and gave them a new commandment. He went on to display the highest example of that commandment in laying down his own life. Listen to Pastor Brett's Good Friday exhortation on the love of Christ.
On the cusp of entering the Promised Land, the LORD told Israel that one day they would ask for a king so that they would be like the nations. We too want to be like the nations, the world. Christians want to be acceptable in popular society—we want our faith to be cool. And of this we need to repent. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
Non-Christians have always regarded our crucified God as folly. From the mocking of Alexamenos in the first century to USA Today regarding a Christian basketball team as backwards, at the core is the perceived foolishness of following a humiliated messiah. Yet what is foolish to the world is the wisdom of God—Jesus laid down his life to ransom many. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Mark 15:21-47 for more.
In the Old Testament, we have recorded the promise of God to provide food called manna for Israel while they were in the wilderness. God promised enough for each day and no more. Storing up or hoarding manna didn't work—new manna was needed each day. God's sufficient grace for each day functions the same. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
Since Constantine's conversion in the fourth century, Christians in the West have faced relatively minimal persecution and suffering. For those who have, they've clung to Jesus by identifying with his suffering to persevere because he persevered. As Jesus' own prophecy (Mark 10:33-34) is being fulfilled, we see Jesus is the silent lamb who was the sinless substitute by being the mocked king. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Mark 15:1-20 for more.
Theologians will describe our world as the "best of all possible worlds" to accomplish God's goal of glorifying himself. So if this world, with all of its sorrow and pain, is the best for the glory of God, we can rest assured that God's purposes cannot be thwarted by our sin and shame. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Mark 14:51-72 for more.
We have a time in our service when a pastor speaks, what we call, an "exhortation" for two reasons: to cultivate fruitfulness in our lives and to cultivate fruitfulness in our worship. Sin will choke out fruitfulness in your life, and it will hinder your worship of a holy God. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
As the trial of Derek Chauvin begins, your city and neighbors need you to pray because they need Jesus Christ. The turmoil of last summer makes this plain. Regardless of how the trial plays out, it cannot resolve all the pain, hurt, injustices, or other troubles that cling to our neighbors. Indifference or over-engagement in the developments of the trial can both lead to prayerlessness. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
A 17th century Spanish artist named Zurbaran painted a peaceful lamb on a simple, black background with its feet bound with ropes. He titled the painting "Agnus Dei," the Lamb of God. As we move through Mark 14:1-50, Jesus is increasingly isolated, abandoned, and betrayed. He stands alone in the hands of sinners ... as the Lamb of God. Listen to this sermon from Pastor Brett.
Don't be ashamed of the exclusive claims of Christ. It isn't pride to be a beggar showing other beggars where the bread is. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
Jesus spoke of things to come when his disciples asked him in private about his thoughts on the splendor of the temple. Regardless of timelines and charts, Jesus wants his disciples to know he will be victorious, and he can be trusted. Therefore, we can stay vigilant and faithful. Listen to Pastor Haakon's sermon on Mark 13:1-37 for more.
A tumble off a ladder in an orchard, the findings of a prominent apologist's abuses, and 1 Corinthians 10:12. These otherwise unrelated topics come together to remind us of how easy it is for us to think we're all good but actually not have firm footing. Listen to Pastor Dan's exhortation for more.
No body likes arrogance. There are a number of commonly used idioms and illustrations that highlight this—the tortoise and the hare, "bigger they are, harder they fall," "pride goes before the fall." Yet we are quick to pass over the display of arrogance in our own lives. Mark captures the folly of Israel's leaders puffed up on their own self-importance not for us to mock them but to see how we are the same. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Mark 11:27-12:44 for more.
See dishes to be washed? Wash them. Trash to be taken out? Take it out. Laundry to be done? Do it. Likewise, within the household of faith, do not leave the encouragement of your brothers and sisters undone. They are redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and it is good and right to acknowledge the grace at work in them. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
Grabbing a delicious-looking apple only to cut it open to find it is rotten inside is an unpleasant discovery. The apple is quickly thrown away. Outward appearances with rotten motives are far from what God wants of his people and comes under Jesus' kingly condemnation in Mark 11:1-25. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
The path of discipleship is fraught with danger and missteps. We're going to need some guidance as we are following Christ in all of life. In Mark 10:13-52, we're given two virtues of faithful discipleship, each with a positive and negative example. Disciples ought to live in willing dependence and humble faith. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more as we follow after Christ together.
You have felt disregarded. You seem to have received the short end of the stick. You didn't receive the recognition you deserved. Why do you respond the way you do? If all that you have you've received as a gracious gift, why would you boast as though you did not receive it? Listen to Brian Wiseman's exhortation and consider prideful boasting or its cousin, a sense of entitlement.
Divorce is commonplace in our culture and is assumed to be a given, similar to the expectations in Jesus' day. Yet the fracturing of a marriage has never been God's intent, and it is a sobering standard that Jesus conveys in Mark 10:1-12. Listen to Pastor Dan's sermon and be encouraged to value the glory marriage points to.
No one ever likes waiting. We would much rather be moving on to the next thing or receive the thing for which we wait. Disdain for waiting is compounded when we are equipped to have almost anything we want instantly through the devices we carry. So it is no surprise we don't want to wait for relationships to develop or sanctification to progress. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
Glass ceiling. Toxic masculinity. Patriarchy. These phrases are used in varying degrees within our society to convey a message about female identity. We are bombarded with a message of what a woman is all the while that same culture cannot with clarity and consistency define what a woman is. A biblical worldview addresses femininity quite differently as the God who has created us has revealed himself and his purposes in his Word. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on womanhood in the final message in the identity series.
The preacher of Hebrews exhorted his audience for having become dull of hearing in respect to God's Word and thus unable to receive further teaching. We can succumb to the same problem with misplaced priorities. Listen to this exhortation from Pastor Haakon for more.
Every human life is valuable because each is an image bearer of God himself. In varied ways, we all diminish the dignity of such image bearers. As we focus these few weeks on "identity," it is necessary to reflect and repent of devaluing this divinely gifted identity in other people. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
Many things in life are more readily caught than taught. And as we breathe the air of our culture, we must be vigilant to look to Scripture and godly examples to catch the biblical vision for masculinity. A man's identity ought to be shaped by what God's Word says a man is, what a man does, and where all our hope lay. Listen to Pastor Haakon's sermon on manhood—our second sermon in our mini-series on identity.
The world and everything in it is weighted down by hardship, suffering, and woe. We can respond by complaining, with cold indifference, or in faithful groaning. Listen to Brian Wiseman's exhortation to grown before the Lord.
Our culture is constantly making claims about who we are and what informs and shapes our identity. What the increasingly predominant worldviews are in fact doing is proclaiming another "gospel." We are bombarded with a different vision of who people fundamentally are, what our core problem is, the solution to remedy it, and the end result of this "faith." In this first sermon on the theme of identity, Pastor Brett speaks to how different our culture views ethnicity from what the Bible affirms.
The reasons to celebrate Christmas are not as festive as the things we most often associate with the holiday. The reason there is Christmas is that we—all humanity—are not nice, not good. Rather, our feet are quick to run to evil. Listen to Pastor Dan's exhortation to hear more.
Humility is a good, commendable thing. But no one wants to be humiliated. Yet this is the very thing the Son of Man said would happen to him. And as his followers, he calls us to the same path through four exhortations: exchange pride with hospitality, replace status with blessing, forsake sin with a vengeance, give your very self. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Mark 9:30-50 for more.
Faith seeking understanding. It's the posture of humility that characterizes biblical faith and is on display as a father comes to Jesus with a tentative request. We emulate the faith while learning from the request. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Mark 9:14-29 for more.
It can be easy to think we have been successful in our evangelism if we share how the Lord has worked in our lives. However, we must proclaim Christ. We must communicate with bold winsomeness the truth about Jesus Christ. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
Advent is a season of fasting and longing that pivots to the feasting season of Christmastime at the hinge of Christmas Eve. That which we have been longing for has come. Expectation has been fulfilled. Light has overcome the darkness. The prophet Isaiah anticipated these realities centuries ahead of Christ's birth. Listen to Pastor Brett's Christmas Eve sermon on Isaiah 9:2.
The line from Luke's Christmas narrative is a familiar one, "On earth peace among those with whom he is well pleased!" We all want peace, but will we lay down our rebellion that prohibits peace with the Triune God? Listen to Pastor Dan's exhortation on peace to consider more.
We see it clearly in the advertisements aimed at us—our culture is gripped by an idolatry of ease, comfort, and self. Any inconvenience should be avoided let alone actual suffering. Yet Jesus teaches another way. Those who follow him will suffer as he too suffered. Though he does not leave us without hope or encouragement. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Mark 9:2-13.
"Joy to the world; the Lord is come." Is come? Is? The familiar carol words it that way to convey the ongoing significance for present life in the historical arrival of the incarnate Son of God. Yet we all to easily slip in rhythms and habits of life that display we functionally do not believe the Lord is come. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation for more.
Jesus certainly cares about suffering, but he is most concerned about delivering people from eternal suffering. As he heals a blind man, he does so in a way to point to spiritual realities. In our spiritual blindness, we must have God open our eyes to rightly perceive that Jesus is the Christ. This Advent, will you see Jesus just as a baby for a mid-winter holiday or will you see him as he has revealed himself to be? Listen to Pastor Zach's sermon on Mark 8:22-9:1 for more.
Even as our culture increasingly rejects any vestige of Christian heritage, we must guard against the same trajectory in our own lives. We must, therefore, receive Jesus by faith afresh. Listen to Pastor Haakon's exhortation for more.
When you walk through the woods, all sounds empty and silent. Yet when you sit and listen, it doesn't take long to hear and see all the activity. Look at Mark 8:1-21, we must do the same as it relates to following after Christ. Doing more and more isn't the solution if we haven't listened to what Christ says and follow him accordingly. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon for more.
Advent is a season of waiting, of longing, of yearning for what we do not now have. And we can all to easily suppress the intended purpose of the season by attempting to fill that sense of loss with gifts and presents and stuff. So we must be on guard against all covetousness and set our hope on what is fixed and true: the promised Second Advent of the Son. Listen to Pastor Dan's exhortation for more.
Our society in recent months has especially conditioned a deep feeling of disdain towards anyone labelled a racist or who exhibits signs of any illness. That kind of disdain is one highlighted in Mark 7 as Jesus shows the nature of the kingdom of God. The hope of the gospel overcomes religious traditions and ethnic barriers to create a people who are chiefly identified by their union with Christ by faith. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Mark 7:24-37.
Anger is the emotion of moral judgment. We get angry when something matters, and we assess that something is wrong. It can be easy to self-justify our anger or dismiss it as just getting "a little hot under the collar" or "frustrated." Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation to consider how you may actually give yourself to sinful anger.
There is an understandable desire among those pursuing godliness to set up boundaries to guard against breaking the Lord's instruction. However, a very real danger arises when we begin to give those boundaries the same level of authority as God's Word. We must hear Jesus' teaching in Mark 7:1-23 and keep focused on the reality that what defiles us comes from within. Listen to Pastor Haakon's sermon to be exhorted by Jesus' words.
Perhaps the best example of an unhelpful application of Scripture is to say to your friend gripped by anxiety, “Well, Philippians 4:6, ‘Don’t be anxious about anything.’” It certainly is true, yet not the most winsome or illuminating of exhortations; “just stop it.” However, we are in no short supply of things to be anxious about. Listen to Pastor Brett's exhortation to be prompted towards repentance of your own fears and distrust.
As we begin to see the holidays on the horizon, it's good to recall how quickly they move on and how readily we forget so many good things. Such forgetfulness is all to easy spiritually as well. We may know who Jesus is, yet we fail to live accordingly. So beholding Jesus for who he is and endeavoring to walk by faith is an ongoing experience. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon on Mark 6:30-56 to behold Jesus in his Word.
Perhaps this year more than any other in recent memory, we are eager for the distraction of the coming holidays. However, we must guard against distractions that would lead us off the mission. Listen to Pastor Dan's exhortation and give thought, and repentance where needed, of how distractions keep you from following Christ in all of life.
The cost of discipleship is one we are exhorted to take into account when considering following Christ in all of life. Yet as we devote ourselves to learn to obey all that Jesus has commanded, the cost of rejection and even death may seem to great to bear. In this sermon from Pastor Dan on Mark 6:14-29, we consider the example of John the Baptist who lost his head in faithfulness to God's Word and kingdom.
In the onslaught of political campaigning over the last year or so, we can be tempted to vote Tuesday and retreat from the public square of political engagement. However, Pastor Haakon exhorts us to see government as something instituted by God and to press into politics while steering clear of Politics.
As Protestants the world over mark this week the beginning of the Reformation, it is fitting for us to reflect on the heart beat of the five driving focuses of that recapturing of the gospel: we are saved (1) by Christ alone (2) through faith alone (3) by grace alone (4) under the authority of Scripture alone (5) all for the glory of God alone. That heart beat is that God looms large in our view and people's opinions shrink. Listen to Pastor Dan's exhortation on this theme.
Rejection stings. We've internalized the mantra, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me," but we know it isn't true. In the kingdom of God, rejection is part of the plan. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon, "Rejected for the Kingdom," on Mark 6:1-13 to hear more of how rejection serves God's purposes.
The authority and lordship of Jesus is plain. He commands a storm to be still. He commands demons away. He commands disease to be gone. He commands death to release its hold. Listen to Westview member Joshua Whetstine's sermon on Mark 4:35-5:43.
"You hurt my feelings." "Do what feels right." "Follow your heart." The very air we breathe in our society exalts our feelings and emotions as the supreme arbiter of truth for the individual. Christians must be perpetually guided by what is true, by God's Word. Listen to Pastor Zach Krych's exhortation to consider this more.
So much biblical anticipation builds the expectation of a spectacular kingdom to come with a remarkable king. And yet as Jesus teaches and demonstrates he is the fulfillment of that anticipation, his kingdom doesn't match the expectation. In Mark 4:21-34, four parables are recorded to help us better understand the kingdom of God. Listen now to Pastor Brett's sermon "The Coming Kingdom."
It is said that Jesus spoke more about Hell than anyone else recorded in the Bible, yet it is a subject we do not give much attention to. That is understandable—the doctrine of Hell is unsettling and unnerving. It truly is the hardest of teachings found in Scripture. But we fail to understand sin if we don't consider the eternal result of giving ourselves to it. "Sin: Its Effect" is the final sermon in the series on sin where Pastor Brett preaches on Matthew 18:7-9.
Consider how many people there are in these Twin Cities. Each has a story; each has a past. And each of us have influences that give rise to sin. Yet will we view sin merely as externals or will we grapple with it at the core? Listen to this exhortation from Joshua Jacobs, pointing us to faith and repentance.
It actually is possible to have civil, meaningful conversations about politics and social issues despite what is displayed online or in the media. And it is something Christians ought to give ourselves to as the issues are truly about a clash of worldviews. In this roundtable, Pastor Zach and his wife Sara share about one such conversation and things we can glean from it as we seek to engage our neighbors in meaningful ways.
We can quickly focus on the "going" part of the Great Commission, but we breeze by the very thing that undergirds our mission: the preeminent authority of Jesus over Heaven and Earth. Listen to this exhortation from Pastor Dan as we repent of our cowardice and gain confidence in Christ's authority.
Sin isn't merely sinful because a rule says it's bad. Sin is sinful because God is holy, because God is wonderfully unique and values himself above all else. Our sin is sinful because it is an affront to God's holiness. Listen to Pastor Brett's sermon, "Sin: Its Sinfulness," on Isaiah 6:1-7 as we continue our series on sin.
Our sinfulness is not just a theological category. Rather, like the Christmas carol, we find our sin as "far as the curse is found." In this sermon, "Sin: Its Pervasiveness," from Pastor Haakon on Romans 1:18-32, we see how sin has brought about the darkening of our heart, the dishonoring of the body, and the debasing of the mind.
Our service for public worship is intentionally organized such that we pause to consider our sink, revel in God's grace, devote ourselves to his Word, and then come to his table. We land there as a weekly reminder that Jesus has done all that we need. We come to the table in faith-filled humility. Listen to this week's exhortation from Pastor Brett for more.
Hand in hand with singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs is letting the Word of Christ dwell richly in you. Will we consecrate ourselves to God's Word? Listen to this week's exhortation from Pastor Dan.
Seeing his city ravaged by disease and set ablaze, one pastor was moved to write the book The Plague of Plagues, giving attention to the far worse pandemic of sin that plagues our world. As we face a similar situation, will we give thought to what truly is the greatest threat to our souls? Listen to this first sermon, "Sin: Its Origin," from Pastor Brett in a series on the doctrine of sin.
Why in the world would someone join a new church? In this round table, Pastors Brett & Zach sit down with Joshua Whetstine, Field Director for Church Planting with the Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention, to pick his brain on the benefits and difficulties of being a part of a new church.
Jesus tells us that he taught in parables to have the same effect on his hearers as Isaiah's prophetic ministry: confirming the hard-heartedness of idolaters. He relayed this in the context of the familiar "parable of the sower." Listen to this sermon on Mark 4:1-20, "Soils & Sovereignty" from Pastor Brett to hear more.
We sing because we're commanded to. We sing to sink the truths in our head down into our hearts. We sing to serve the faith of our brothers and sisters with us. When we don't sing like this, we need to turn in repentance. Listen for more on this theme in Pastor Zach's exhortation.
We can be gripped by the fear, guilt, or shame of our sin such that we believe the lie that God could never give us peace, never forgive us, or never make us whole. This is why we need to reorient on the gospel each week and be assured of the pardon that is ours in Jesus. Listen to Pastor Zach's exhortation for more.
We all get a kick out of watching someone else be made a fool of—such voyeurism serves to conceal or overlook our own failings. As we read of the failings of the scribes and Jesus' family, will overlook our own shortcomings in rightly following Jesus? Listen to this sermon by Pastor Brett on Mark 3:20-35.
The Westview pastoral team returns from a round table hiatus to discuss how we pursue benefiting from God's manifest grace to us through his varied means. We won't follow Christ in all of life if we don't put ourselves in the stream of his grace.
In this exhortation, Pastor Haakon addresses why we set aside time in our service each week to consider God and his Word that we may repent of sin.
Opposition to Jesus doesn't always look the same. Some times it is rooted in tradition, sometimes in want to just use Jesus, and some times founded in the deceit of sin. In this sermon on Mark 3:1-19, Pastor Brett points to the gathering storm of opposition that leads to the cross.
Guest preacher Kenny Ortiz (Cities Church) draws our attention to Psalm 33 and the role of singing in the Christian life.
This recording is an "immersive experience" (read: poor quality with a lot of the ambient noise of worshiping together as families) of Pastor Dan exhorting us to confess our sin lest we deceive ourselves.
Consider how the Bible describes God—he is preeminently glorious and worthy of praise! And yet we so often go about our lives as though he isn't or we don't care. That's why we need to be called to worship each week by God in his Word and repent of not regarding God according to his worth.
Walking in the routine and rhythms of the Christian life can result in a sleepy lethargy of habit and doing things the way they've always been done. In this sermon on Mark 2:13-28, Pastor Brett shows how Jesus is calling us to wake up to the new work he is doing through a new kind of calling, a new method, and a new authority.
Knowledge can be a blessing and a curse. Does what you know lead you to action in following Jesus or does it bind you in fear to either reject him or not fully follow him? In this sermon on Mark 2:1-12, Pastor Brett leads us in considering what different people in the passage know about Jesus and how they respond.
Pastor Haakon exhorts us to have our view of hospitality shaped, infused, and transformed by God's hospitality. It isn't about what your house is like, but do you commend the One who has gone before and promised a place for you in his Father's house?
Who will you worship? We all will worship someone or something. It may be fame, science, acceptance, comfort—whatever or whoever it is, we will offer up our affections to something. In Psalm 29, we're faced with this question. Who will you worship?
Pastor Brett preached this sermon on Psalm 29 on July 12, 2020.
Pastor Zach reflects on Westview's mission statement—following Christ in all of life—to lead us into confession.
In this sermon from our outdoor service on June 28, 2020, on Psalm 27 by Brett Toney, we see the psalmist boast in the Lord, lament to the Lord, and insist on the Lord in response to his suffering. Learn more about Westview Church at westviewchurchmn.com.
In this exhortation from our outdoor service on June 28, 2020, Dan Perrel calls us to consider others more significant than ourselves from Philippians 2. Find more about Westview Church at westviewchurchmn.com.
We have our very first guest on the Westview Church Podcast as we discuss a topic that is all the rage right now with books being published, movies being produced, presidential tweets being tweeted ... liturgy. It sounds like an old fogey church word but speaks to the habits that shape our lives. And as we're following Christ in all of life, those habits are really important. Learn more about Westview at westviewchurchmn.com.
Community Groups and Discipleship Groups? What gives? In this episode, Brett Toney and Zach Krych discuss the vision behind Westview's Community Groups and how they differ in focus and intent from Discipleship Groups. Learn more about Westview Church at westviewchurchmn.com.
Jesus commissioned the Church—all Christians—to make disciples wherever they go by baptizing in the Triune name and teaching to observe all that he commanded. As we are following Christ in all of life at Westview, how are we going to carry out that commissioning? The primary focus will be on Discipleship Groups, the topic of this episode that our leadership team discusses.
Rounding out the focus on Westview's three essentials, the leadership team discusses generous hospitality. This essential really serves to bridge together the first two essentials of gospel growth and joyful mission as we are following Christ in all of life. Learn more about Westview at westviewchurchmn.com or sign up to receive email updates at westviewchurchmn.com/contact.
The Westview leadership team "gets together" for the first socially distant episode to discuss the second essential: joyful mission. Learn more about Westview at westviewchurchmn.com or sign up to receive email updates at https://westviewchurchmn.com/contact.
The Westview leadership team sits down to start talking about the essentials that shape us as a local church. Those essentials are gospel growth, joyful mission, and generous hospitality, with the first in that list being the focus of this episode. Learn more about Westview at westviewchurchmn.com or sign up to receive email updates at https://westviewchurchmn.com/contact.
In this inaugural episode, the Westview leadership team discusses the mission statement that provides the orienting direction of who we are and what we do as a local church—following Christ in all of life. Come along with us as the team shares how this plays out in the life of the church.
Learn more about Westview at westviewchurchmn.com or sign up to receive email updates at https://westviewchurchmn.com/contact.