WestWinds Community Church: Recent Episodes
Rev. Mark Davis
To welcome the community with open arms. To train people who are passionate about living out God’s purpose for their lives and to give an outlet for sharing the love of Christ through outreach and missions.
Genuine repentance leads to Gods forgiveness and restoration of both the individual and the community.
Psalm 121:18 reminds us that God is our source of safety in a world full of dangers. It tells us that we can trust God to deliver us from all of our enemies, both internal and external.
The church functions as one body, and it is up to each person to put aside their own interests and work together to reach the common goal of unity in the faith.
You will not regret resisting sin. You will regret giving in. Choke temptation by taking refuge in Jesus and the means of grace he provides: pray, Dont linger in your temptation, find support, and give it time. As you begin this journey, remember that what sin promises so much now will only steal your joy in God.
Experiences and encounters with God in the wilderness teach us how to trust God when life gets hard. We serve a God who sees us, hears our cries for help, and provides for our needs in the wildernesses of life.
Its a matter of the approach of Jesus love, the depth of His love and type of His love: love one another in the same way that I have loved you.
Christ extends healing to the lonely, outcast, and downtrodden, offering them a place in his church.Because Christ has offered inclusive space to the downtrodden, it is the responsibility of the church to reach out and love those who feel unwanted.
I would like to encourage those of you who are struggling today with feeling unclean or not good enough to spend time in prayer this week. Know and accept that God has made you clean and whole. As a community of believers, we need to continually remind one another that God has atoned for our sin and allowed us to live a life white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). Isaiah 1:1818Come now, let us settle the matter,says theLord.Though your sins are like scarlet,they shall be as white as snow;though they are red as crimson,they shall be like wool.
If Christ is the light of the world, piercing the darkness of sin and ignorance, then all of those who are in his church are healed to properly see God and the world. In this, they should exemplify compassion and hope for those who are in darkness, and joy for seeing the glory of God in Christ. Above all, they should have the same response as the man in this story: He said, Lord, I believe, and he worshiped him (v. 38). Practically, this means reaching out to those who are in darkness and showing them the light of Christ through our witness.
The church grows through generational faith.What intentional actions are you taking to share your faith with the next generation of believers? Oftentimes, when a company runs a promotion, at the very end they will say quickly, Terms and conditions apply.What does this mean?
When we learn to listen to the grievances of our marginalized brothers and sisters with love and respect, we allow the Holy Spirit to weed out any sin and injustice that have taken root in our hearts, lives, and churches, so that we are freed to serve our neighbors as God calls us to. We will learn to listen with the intent of understanding so that God can actively work through us to respond to the immediate needs of those around us.
Christ, the resurrected Lord, is with usa living and active presence in the church.The resurrected Christ calls us to worship and obedience, making disciples in our local communities.
Are you missing Jesus, like the religious leaders, because youre too concerned with where your seat is at church, what color the sanctuary carpet might be, or politics? Over the past two years, we have had a lot of politics being blended into Christianity. It has no place in our relationship with Jesus. What does your relationship with Jesus look like? Is it in name only? Or is it how He modeled it for us? This week, As we walk through the Holy Week towards the Cross and the resurrection, I challenge you to reflect on your relationship or belief in Jesus or lack thereof.
A personal relationship with Jesus is not a faith that keeps us at home quiet, but it encourages (and commands) that we go out into the world for the sake of telling others the good news about Jesus.
A personal relationship with Jesus is more than a hobby; its a lifestyle.Do you fit Jesus into a part of your life, or has your whole life been transformed by knowing Jesus?
For parents and mentors, a personal relationship with Jesus means they teach the children in their lives the faith.Other than attending worship, what do you do intentionally with your children to help them grow in their faith and understanding of God?
Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.
This act of living, dwelling or tabernacling among us is a gift from God. It is, you could say, the first gift of Christmas. And it is a gift that comes with additional presents.
The worship of God is not something we do thoughtlessly or out of habit. It requires an awareness of his character, our need of him, and how we approach him. An ongoing study of his Word, on our own and in community with others, will allow us to worship him as he deserves, as a heart committed to him longs to do.
Loving God with our entire being is the key to true worship. If we are to love God, then we must figure out what it looks like to love him completelywithout reservation and with our entire being.Its not hard to picture immersing a donut in milk, or a person immersed underwater, or a plant immersed in the soil. The idea of a person fully immersing themselves into the worship of God is more difficult to understand or imagine. God expects a persons entire being to worship him.
If you havent seen the sun, you will be impressed with a street lightan imitation.Today ask God to show you the things you have put as a priority over Him or as a substitute.
As we approach difficult conversations with fellow believers in our lives, we should lead with this reality: we will have all kinds of culture shocks, places where our differences make conversation harder, but we are grounded in a reality that cannot be shaken by any social or political issue.
This week, ask your self these two questionsIdentify how you are helping the local church make disciples in the local area, and in what ways can you improve your discipleship?
Genuine repentance leads to Gods forgiveness and restoration of both the individual and the community. God is forgiving and brings restoration when we repent of our sins and turn to him.
We can trust and have confidence, on a daily basis, in God because He is our source of safety in a world where we know there are many dangers and we will go through many troubles and difficult situations.We can trust that God is able to help us through all of our struggles, both internal struggles and external struggles.
We frequently fall into the trap of despair when we contemplate our sin or the evil in the world, but we need to remind ourselves of Gods faithfulness in the past so that we can trust him in the present and for the future.