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Central West End Church
The weekly podcast for Central West End Church in St. Louis, MO. For more information please visit www.centralwestendchurch.com.
Why do Christians have to say that Jesus is the only way to God? As problematic as that sounds, it raises the deeper question of the nature of spiritual reality. This is a question that matters for all of us. This passage shows us why.
The Bible emphasizes the centrality of love in the life of the Christian. This passage challenges both the church and secular notions of love and justice. But it’s a challenge we need.
What is the good life? Where do we see it, and how can we really live it? In this passage, the apostle John says it all comes down to getting our vision. How are we seeing reality?
Blurb: Our culture says real spirituality is not intellectual, it’s experiential. Christianity says that’s a false dichotomy. This passage shows us that knowing Jesus is something that happens with our whole being and transforms our whole being.
In this troubled world we need both encouragement and guidance. The Apostle John strengthens us as he reminds us of the Lord's work in our lives. He also warns us of the danger that comes when we set our hearts on the systems of this world that are disordered and destructive. He invites us to live differently, as dearly loved children, in light of what will truly last.
In a world full of upheaval, we need something to anchor us. The apostle John wrote three letters to the early church to help them find the anchor they needed in Jesus. And these letters can help us, too.
We’re experiencing a crisis of hope in our culture. The Bible is not the only story that offers some kind of hope. But the hope it offers is unique from every other story.
Church doesn’t feel like an option for many people. And yet, none of the spiritual options our culture offers us are capable of satisfying our spiritual longings. What do we do with that? This passage helps us.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ isn’t just a metaphor. It’s a historical reality that can change your life and the world. How? This amazing passage shows us.
In the first garden Adam and Eve by their actions said to God, in effect, Not what You will but what we will and brought upon all humanity a reign of sin and death. In Gethsemane, the second garden, Jesus prays Not what I will but what You will, reversing the pattern of rebellion and setting in motion a sequence of events to defeat death itself!
Whatever story you believe about the world shapes the way you live in the world. Jesus’ death on the cross gives us a new story to shape our lives in this world.
Even though we live in a morally relativistic culture, the problem of evil is still a problem. What do we do with that? Does God have a solution? The wilderness temptation of Jesus shows us.
There’s something about life in this world that always leaves us wanting more, but we feel cut off from it. Why is that, and what do we do with it? The big story of the Bible explains why we feel cut off and what God does about it.
God led Israel in the wilderness for 40 years. Why? Because the wilderness is a place of suffering. And suffering is one of the main ways, if not the main way, you meet God.
It’s easy to think of God’s law as an arbitrary set of rules we must obey to get God to love us. But this passage shows us it’s actually a picture of what it looks like to live inside the story of what God is already doing in our lives and the world.
Whatever story you believe about the world shapes your life in the world. The Bible gives us a story that sets us free and transforms us. The Exodus story shows us how.
Salvation is a culturally loaded term, but it’s simply another way of talking about transformation. And often we don’t just long for transformation, we groan for it. This passage helps us understand both our groaning and our longing.
The Bible is God’s autobiography. What God says and does in the story reveals His nature and character. Christians worship God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—all in one. Knowing the Bible’s whole story is the best way to worship God in spirit and in truth.
Exile and homecoming is one of the main themes in the Bible. With all the progress we’ve made in the world, why are we still so unhappy? And is there any remedy? This passage shows us.
In modern, Western culture, not only do we have a distorted picture of God, we have a distorted picture of sin. This passage helps us understand why, and points us toward the path of healing and freedom.
We all wrestle with identity questions: Who am I? Does my life matter? The Bible gives us a story that gets to the heart of those questions in a way that no other story does.
We all feel like our lives are part of a story. That’s exactly what the Bible offers us: a big story to live in. Every story has a setting. What kind of world are we in? This passage shows us.
Sometimes the greyness of life can make every step a marathon. How can we keep going? Faith in Jesus is the answer. He who won the race for us powers us forward through the persevering practice of faith.
Human beings long for love, especially the love of God. When Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, he showed them the true meaning and the full extent of God's love.
In our world, you can have joy, or you can have suffering. What you can’t have is both. But this passage shows us that suffering can actually be one of the most powerful ways the joy of Christ comes alive in you.
Every human needs to be safe, seen, soothed, and secure. Instead, most of us feel the pressure to perform for the love we need. Jesus offers us the ultimate experience of being safe, seen, soothed, and secure, because Jesus offers us true peace.
Hopelessness is almost like an epidemic today. Where do we find the hope we need? This passage shows us where to find a living hope.
You can be looking right at something, but without the right frame, it makes no sense. The kingdom of God can be like that. At the end of the book of Acts, the apostle Paul gives us a frame to make sense of the kingdom.
Suffering creates a crisis of confidence in God. But when we see how Paul navigates this storm, it shows us how God is with us in our storms.
Politics matters, because politics is powerful. But because it’s so powerful, it’s crucial to understand how the gospel relates to politics and what that means for Christians. This passage shows us.
We all long for a place to belong and a purpose in life. In Acts 20, we see God's people joined together in his mission. The church as a fellowship of God's people on mission is called to walk together, to walk through tears and trials, and to testify to the wonderful hope we have because of God's grace.
We are creatures of desire, but our desires always seem heartbreakingly beyond our reach. What do we do with that? In this passage, Paul shows us how the gospel affirms, critiques, and ultimately fulfills our deepest desires.
How should we live when the Powers-That-Be insist that we accept realities and rules that violate our faith? Not an easy question. There are several options. This passage and sermon reveal the one perfect answer.
These days it can be suspect and even unpopular to talk to other people about Jesus. Read the book of Acts, chapter 18, and listen to this sermon to understand why “sharing the Gospel” is basic to being a Christian and a blessing to the whole world.
We all learn ways of getting through life that work for us, but they still feel upside down. The gospel shows us what right side up looks like.
What if your ultimate safety wasn’t in being protected from suffering, but in the goodness of a God who carries and transforms you through the suffering? That is definitely not a safe question. But it is the question this passage helps us answer.
God is present in our culture as a concept, but not as an inescapable, living reality. And yet, our spiritual hunger and desire for rescue never goes away. What do we do with that?
Even though our culture is deeply influenced by Christianity, many people have a distorted or false picture of Christianity. It doesn’t make any sense to them. How do you make sense of Christianity to people for whom Christianity doesn’t make any sense? This passage helps us.
It’s often hard to recognize God’s work in our lives and in the world, because it doesn’t look like what we think it should look like. How can we take care not to miss what God is doing? In this passage, the apostle Paul shows us it’s all wrapped up in understanding the story we’re in.
Evangelism is a controversial and fearful topic for many people, and for many reasons. But the word has its roots in the idea of "good news," specifically the good news about Jesus. This passage helps us recover a healthier and happier understanding of this much misunderstood word.
God's vision for the world has always been a multiethnic, multicultural vision. This story is one of the most powerful examples of that. In this passage, Peter recounts how he was led to a summit experience in the expansion of the gospel to all the world.
This famous passage is not just a story about one man and how he met the risen Jesus. It's also a powerful lesson about what it means to be the church.
What if the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing that can really affirm and honor all the different cultures of the world because it’s the only thing that can truly fulfill our deepest spiritual longings? This passage shows us how.
The quest for meaning and control is at the heart of our lives. This story about a magician looking for the same things has a lot to show us about this quest and its ultimate fulfillment.
We live in a world full of hatred, division, and polarization. What does it mean to be the church in this, and what if the church could be a source of joy in the midst of the division? This passage shows us how.
One of the biggest threats to the church in America isn’t external: the loss of power. It’s internal: our inability to give power away. The book of Acts, and especially this passage, helps by showing us what it means to be the church.
Whether it’s the ancient Roman Empire, or the year 2024 in the modern West, following Jesus requires courage. If you struggle with fear, and wonder where you can get the courage to follow Jesus, this passage is a goldmine.
Wouldn’t it be great if the Church could be totally transformed? If it could, how would that be possible. Historically, when the Church experiences radical transformation it is called Revival. Join us as we continue our series in the book of Acts and we look at the account of the very first revival.
Many people say no one should ever claim to have the one, true religion. But what if the gospel is not only not the oppressive threat many people think it is? What if, instead, it’s actually the only thing that can really create a world of true justice and peace?
The presence of evil and suffering in this world is still one of the most powerful arguments against faith in an all-loving, all-powerful creator. We want to make sense of it. Even more, we want to find freedom from it. Is that possible? And if so, how?
What if the only solution for the oppression, abuse, and injustices of the church isn’t the removal of the church, but the renewal of the church? One of the best ways to get a vision for the future of the church is to get a clearer picture of the very first church. This passage helps us do that.
This passage contains the first explicit proclamation of the gospel of Jesus. So if we want to understand what the gospel really means, there is no better place to look.
In our culture, spirituality is hot. Church is not. But what if real spirituality is impossible to experience apart from Jesus and the church he called into being? This passage helps us by showing us what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus had gone back to heaven. It seemed like the end. But then his disciples were reminded of what they needed to go on. It could be just what you need, too.
The first Christians were a minority movement of social, cultural, and religious outsiders with zero political power. Yet within 30 years, they turned the world upside down. How? It all begins in this passage.
We live in a world where many believe in God or spiritual reality, but what feels more real to us is all the pressures, anxieties, and discouragement of what we call “the real world.” How does that change? In this passage, Jesus leads us through the path of transformation.
To have a name is to be a person: a unique self with meaning and dignity. Evil is anything that distorts and destroys your personhood. It erases your name. But in this passage, we see how Jesus restores it back to us.
Faith healing is a real thing. And it isn’t magic, unless you put your faith in someone other than Jesus. This passage considers the significance of vulnerability, prayer, and gratitude in healing.
With this question, Jesus doesn’t ask whether we have faith. He assumes we do. That might sound counterintuitive to many, but this passage takes us deeper into the real nature of faith.
We live in a weeping world, because everything we love is always dying. But we also live in a seeking world, because we long for something that cannot be touched by death. How does the resurrection of Jesus address this struggle?
“Why have you forsaken me?” Jesus didn’t ask this question of a human being. He asked it of God. What does it mean? To look at the cross is to come face to face with something we don’t want to look at, but desperately need to.
It’s hard to face the pain and negativity of our lives and this world. We want things to be smooth, including spirituality. But Jesus offers us a way through the pain to something far greater.
We all need to know not only that we are worthy of love and belonging, we need to know why. The woman in this story, and Jesus’ question about her, give us a new way of seeing others by giving us a new way of seeing ourselves.
To be human is to long for more than we currently experience and to be more than we currently are. In this passage, Jesus asks a question that brings us to the very heart of our longing for something more.
Why would Jesus do so much of his teaching by means of parables, which are so hard to understand? In this passage, Jesus shows us the counter-intuitive, yet deeply healing, answer.
We modern people struggle greatly with the idea of God’s judgment. But in this parable, Jesus shows us that unless we allow God to be a God of judgment, then he cannot be the God of love we so desperately desire.
Who doesn’t want to be someone’s precious “treasure”? Who doesn’t want to know that someone loves them more than life itself? No matter who you are, these two short parables are an invitation to both those gifts.
The problem of the “other” is one of the biggest problems in our world. How should we respond? Is it possible to embrace the other? These two short parables offer us a powerful answer.
We have a longing for something bigger than ourselves, and many people wonder if Jesus might play a part in it. In this parable, Jesus shows us what we’re longing for, and how it comes into our lives.
People with different worldviews nonetheless describe the same experience: We feel cut off from our true home. This passage shows us why that is and, more importantly, what God does about it.
“Whatever has your attention is shaping and directing your life. In the parable of the ten maidens, Jesus warns us not to give all of our attention to lesser things, lest we miss out on the best thing.”
The Day of the Lord. The end of time. Good news or not so much? This passage sheds light on the life-giving difference between threat and promise.
The most important conversations are the ones we’re least likely to have, because they’re most likely to go wrong. In this passage, Jesus models four things that help us walk through the most challenging conversations.
Human beings don’t just shape technology. Our technology shapes us. What is technology? How does it shape us? How should we use it? This passage is one of the best places to think about that.
Of all the topics that involve our body, abortion is one of the most notable. But it is fiercely debated. This passage helps us make sense of the debate and find a way through.
Our culture says the love, intimacy, and connection we need as human beings is only available through marriage, romance, and sex. The Bible says it’s available to everyone through the unique relationship called friendship. This passage offers us a beautiful picture of this.
Singleness is deeply misunderstood in both our culture and the church. It is often seen as a deficiency or something survivable only with a special gift. But this passage helps us with a radically different vision of what singleness truly is.
On the surface, this passage is a difficult and challenging read, especially in our modern world. But when we dig deeper, we find many surprises that offer us a fuller understanding and experience of marriage.
In week two of this conversation, we want to ask what it means to support and care for those who might consider transitioning. This passage helps us with this question
The conversation about transgender identities is challenging at multiple levels. But at the deepest level, it’s a conversation about what it means to be a human being.
The church has not been a safe place for gay people. Can Christianity offer us a way to think about same-sex relationships that honors the full dignity of gay people?
There’s a picture of Christianity as being very rigid and repressive about sex. Sex is bad. Sex is dirty. What is a truer Biblical picture of sex? This passage shows us.
The daily hustle of our lives makes it difficult to pay attention to our longings, especially for God. The Song of Songs stirs our longings for God. Even more, it shows us God’s longing for us.
In our culture, we use identity language all the time. But what are we actually talking about? In order to have these conversations, we need a basic understanding of identity. This passage gives it to us.
Two of the biggest stories our culture tells about the body are either that the body is all there is, or the body is only temporary. The Bible shows us a radically different story that changes the way we look at everything else in this world.
Whenever we approach a controversial conversation, we need to be as clear as we can about what’s standing beneath the stands we take. Because if we’re not clear about our assumptions, how can we be clear in our conversations? This passage helps us to do that.
How do you manage the disappointment of life? Is it even possible to find the contentment we’re always looking for? Here at the end of his letter to the Philippians, Paul shows us the secret of true contentment.
Where can we find tranquility? What can we give to get peace? Who doesn’t want to glide instead of fighting the air, to float instead of floundering? This week’s passage offers good news about release from anxiety and rest in relationship with God.
Conflict among Christians is to be expected, and sadly it can often turn into ugly divisive fights. But God tells us that as followers of Christ it is vital that we manage our differences in a radically different way. Join us this week as we continue our journey through the book of Philippians and we learn how to fight like Christians
How do we take hold of all that God has for us? Paul's passage today gives us a look at the answer.
The deepest desire, and the most haunting question, in our lives is, "Am I seen? Am I loved?" Joy is when we get a taste of our desire to be seen and loved. But how do we find joy? Paul shows us in this passage.
No matter how much progress we make, the history of this world and our lives in it oftentimes feels like a long defeat. Is there any way to fight the long defeat without being buried by it? In this passage, Paul takes this question head on.
Many don't like the idea of obedience, but in the Bible we find that obedience to God's will is the way to true freedom. In today's sermon, we explore the ethical exhortations Paul gives to the Philippians as a way towards joyful obedience.
In a world full of hatred and division, the greatest need has always been and continues to be for more love. But what is love? What does it look like in action? This passage shows us.
Where is the real life we’re all looking for? Does it even exist? Paul is in a Roman jail cell, facing execution. And yet he’s full of life and joy. How? For Paul, it’s all about the gospel of Jesus.
Paul is in the furnace of suffering. But he’s overflowing with joy. How can he do that? And what’s more: How can you rejoice in the furnace of suffering and evil? This passage addresses the question head on.
What if there was a way to find a joy that could never be threatened, no matter what else is going on in your life? That’s what Philippians is about. The first 11 verses give us an introduction on how to find it.
What are spiritual gifts? Why does the Holy Spirit give spiritual gifts to people? This passage is a great place to see the real purpose of the gifts of the Spirit.
"Love will keep us together," the old song says. But what about when it doesn't? Listen to learn how the Holy Spirit calls us beyond emotions and intentions, to unify us in divine love.
Do you ever wonder what God is doing in the midst of your suffering? And do you ever wonder if it could be connected to some greater purpose? This passage shows us that one of the main ways God uses our groaning to bring about glory is through the Holy Spirit.
Being a Christian means that God has supernaturally come into your life through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. But how do you know that this has actually happened? God’s Word tells us that when the Holy Spirit is supernaturally at work in our lives, there will be fruit. Join us as we explore the fruitful Spirit together.
How can we face the truth about ourselves without being crushed by the voice of condemnation? We need the transforming work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This passage shows us the first step in that process.
Getting a do-over. Pushing the reset button. How many times have you wanted to go back to the beginning and start again? It seems impossible, but the work of the Holy Spirit offers just that: rebirth into a new life. Listen and learn how the Birthing Spirit may already be making that offer to you.
The longing for spiritual connection is an ongoing human experience. Many people today would question whether Christianity still has anything to say to our modern world about it. But as we explore the person and work of the Holy Spirit, we’ll see it has far more to say than we realize.
Life is death, because life is filled with things that end and you can never get them back. What does God do about that? This classic passage about the resurrection of Jesus shows us.
Do you ever struggle to understand yourself or the human condition? The cross is a mirror showing us who we are. It helps us embrace the remedy God offers by showing us the malady it addresses.
Does "Jesus as Lord" sound a too imposing? Listen and hear how Jesus subverts expectations, redefines power, and gives his followers so much love they have to share it!
Do you ever do things you know you shouldn’t do, but you do them anyway and you’re not even sure why? Why do we do that? And is there any way to be free of these things? The garden of Gethsemane shows us the answer.
The question, “Why did Jesus die?” provokes strong feelings from people and many different answers. But what if we could ask Jesus? In this passage, Jesus himself explains the meaning of his death to us.
Do you ever feel like the story of this world and your life in it is the story of something out of sorts that needs to be set right? Something that needs to be redeemed? In this passage, Jesus says his death is that redemption. How? Join us for this week’s message.
What if the answer to all of our biggest struggles is bound up in the question of whether Jesus is “the Christ” and how we respond to that question? That’s a big “what if.” But this passage helps us find the answer and apply it to our life.
One of the most offensive aspects of Jesus in our culture is the idea of Jesus as judge. But in a society as concerned with justice as we are, what do we lose if we get rid of this idea? Join us as we explore this question.
Homesickness is a universal human experience: a feeling of exile from our true home. This is one of the main themes of the Bible, and one of the most important aspects of who Jesus is. How? Join us for this week’s episode!
One of the more prominent pictures of Jesus is as a revolutionary. Is that true? This passage shows us the answer is yes, but not the kind of revolutionary we think. He’s even more radical than we imagine. Join us to learn how.
Of all the different opinions on Jesus, the most hotly debated is whether or not Jesus is God. Far from a merely abstract question, this has powerful relevance for our deepest longings for safety, delight, and love.
In his time on earth, Jesus was renowned as a healer. People thronged to him to be cured by a word or a touch. But what about now? Does Jesus still heal? This sermon will explore questions and opinions about what we can hope for and expect.
In this sermon, we look at an aspect of Jesus that is rarely understood, even by Christians! But it is one of the most important things we could possibly see about Jesus if we really want to know who he is and what he's up to in the world.
This week, we look at what is probably the most popular conception of Jesus: that he was a great teacher. Is that true? Can we have access to what he really taught? And if so, what does his teaching mean for our lives?
Hear this refreshing gospel message from Rev. Mike Higgins from Isaiah 53.
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One of our biggest challenges is we can be so familiar with the Christmas story that we no longer see it for what it is. But if we stand back far enough, we see a bigger picture that is far more shocking, but also far more comforting and transformative, than we imagined.
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We all struggle with hope, because we’re always longing and always being let down. What do we do with that? This passage shows us the goodness of our longings, and the way to find true satisfaction for them.
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Waiting is uncomfortable, but we can only receive that which we are willing to wait for. And I will waiting reveals what we worship. Join us as we continue our advent series, waiting on the King
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We tend to assume that humans have the power to overcome the darkness of the world. Christmas, however, suggests that what we really need is not inspiration to activate our inner resources, but intervention for our utter lack of resources. This passage shows us God’s intervention.
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Advent is all about expectation – surprising pregnancies, dreams, and journeys. If you're longing for something but not sure whether to hope, this story of two senior citizens and an unexpected baby might surprise you in a good way!
As we conclude this series in Numbers, we see we’re in a war, but not the one we think; we need a king, but not the one we see; and we need a victory, but not the one we expect.
Are the stresses of life threatening you? In this scripture passage, God promises power against them. Listen and learn how God delivers on that promise.
One of our deepest impulses is a desire for control. One of the most stubborn realities is our lack of control. This creates a huge struggle for us. This passage shows us the reason for that struggle and God’s solution.
This story shows us it’s possible to miss God even when he’s standing right in front of us. Why is that? And what does God do about it? Join us as we find out.
This story shows us it’s possible to miss God even when he’s standing right in front of us. Why is that? And what does God do about it? Join us as we find out.
Who's story are you in? In this sermon, we explore how the book of Numbers gives us a bigger picture to help us become better disciples of Christ.
What is wrong with the world? If we don’t get the diagnosis right, we’ll never get the solution right. This passage is one of the best places to come to a deeper understanding of the biggest problem facing our world: sin.
We were created for deep, soul-satisfaction. But the options on offer in our world often make us emptier. This passage shows us the way out of spiritual emptiness and into the fullness we long for.
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We all have faced deep disappointments, and long for a world made new, but often we try to get there by our own power, or by striving for power that isn’t ours. Numbers 16 is a story of real hope coming through an uncommon person in the midst of these real disappointments.
We all have faced deep disappointments, and long for a world made new, but often we try to get there by our own power, or by striving for power that isn’t ours. Numbers 16 is a story of real hope coming through an uncommon person in the midst of these real disappointments.
We all desire a deeper, fuller life. But one of the main reasons we don’t enter into it is because of the fear of losing control and comfort. Numbers 14 has a lot to show us about how we move out of fear and into a life of fullness
We all desire a deeper, fuller life. But one of the main reasons we don’t enter into it is because of the fear of losing control and comfort. Numbers 14 has a lot to show us about how we move out of fear and into a life of fullness
Our passage in numbers provides us with a sobering warning that there is some thing that would prevent us from entering the rest that God has promised, and that is unbelief. Let’s explore the danger of unbelief together as we continue our serious discipleship in the desert.
Our passage in numbers provides us with a sobering warning that there is some thing that would prevent us from entering the rest that God has promised, and that is unbelief. Let’s explore the danger of unbelief together as we continue our serious discipleship in the desert.
Discontent doesn’t mean unhappy over what you can’t have, but because of what you do have. It poisons everything else in our life. But this passage shows us a way out of discontent and into wholeness.
Discontent doesn’t mean unhappy over what you can’t have, but because of what you do have. It poisons everything else in our life. But this passage shows us a way out of discontent and into wholeness.
We long to change the world. The challenge is that what the world becomes is the result of what we are becoming. This passage in Numbers shows us how we can experience transformation for both.
We long to change the world. The challenge is that what the world becomes is the result of what we are becoming. This passage in Numbers shows us how we can experience transformation for both.
Life feels like a journey on which we often feel lost. What do we need most when that happens? The opening chapters of the book of Numbers show us. Join us as we begin this new series!
Do you ever wonder, "who am I – really?" And, "How can I become my 'authentic' self?" God designed and created you. Entering into a relationship with him through Jesus reveals the glory of that design and shows you the way to live it.
We long to belong to something bigger than ourselves without losing ourselves. Understanding and employing spiritual gifts is one of the ways that happens. How? This passage shows us.
Do you ever struggle with doubt, discouragement, and despair about where this world is headed? Jesus’ answer is to point to a new world, and make us witnesses to that new world as well.
Jesus said the two greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor. One of the primary ways we love our neighbor is by serving them. But if we don’t know why we should serve our neighbor, it’s easy to do it for unhealthy reasons (like guilt or pride) or not do it at all. Join us for this four week series as we look at a better way: the way of love.
The stories we tell shape the lives we live. And the more significant that story, the more powerfully it shapes our life. In this parable, Jesus tells us the story of the whole world. Even more importantly, he tells us how he is the center of that story.
In this parable, Jesus gives us a surprising picture of what it means to have a self, what it means for that self to be lost, and especially what it means for that self to be found!
There's a seed of superiority in each of us. Unaddressed, it will grow into an oak tree of hatred and destruction. In this parable, Jesus offers us a picture of how the kingdom of God plants a whole new life in us.
No matter what your picture of reality is, this famous passage presents challenges for all of us. But it also has surprises that invite you into a better, more beautiful version of the picture you already have.
What is the kingdom of God? Who is Jesus? It’s easy to think we already know. In this parable, Jesus gives us the key to understanding both the kingdom and himself.
When you face the hardest things in life, what do you need more than anything else? In the breathtaking conclusion of Romans 8, the apostle Paul shows us.
Sometimes, lives can feel like tiny boats floating without anchor in a great big sea. We know God‘s promises, but we are still waiting for their delivery. What would it mean to know that the Holy Spirit lives in you—inspiring, empowering, and praying on your behalf? While we wait, the Holy Spirit holds us steady—alive with and within everyone who belongs to Christ.
There’s an old saying: Religious people are so heavenly minded they’re no earthly good. It makes sense why people would say this. But what if it’s a false choice? What if the gospel offers us a hope that brings heaven and earth together?
As human beings, our access to love depends on feeling worthy of it. But that leads to a life of fear. What if we could find a way to live that’s less driven by fear? This week’s passage takes us right to the very heartbeat of God’s work in our life to heal our fear.
It’s often easier to name the pain of things we don’t want than to articulate the desires we do want. But what if that pain is pointing us to something we’re made for? Paul shows us that something and its connection to our pain in Romans 8:6-13.
What is the truly good life? Does it even exist? And if it does, how would we go about finding it? Romans 8:5-9 shows us a picture of what that looks like.
What is true spirituality? At the beginning of Romans 8, the apostle Paul begins to explore this question with two of humanity's biggest problems, and God's ultimate solution.
We all live with the experience of inner conflict. Paul shows us in this passage in Romans that unless we are set free from our deepest problem that inner conflict threatens to be the death of us. Join us as we learn about the war within.
Finding the intimacy and belonging we long for is challenging. True intimacy requires radical vulnerability, which is risky and terrifying. In this passage, Paul shows us what it looks like to find the intimacy we long for in Christ.
Slavery is a problematic topic in any culture, not least our own. But in this passage, the apostle Paul shows us the nature of our spiritual slavery and a freedom that goes beyond anything we could imagine.
What if the life you long for - but have never really found - is available, but to find it you have to experience a kind of death? It sounds counter-intuitive. But that’s exactly what the apostle Paul shows us in this passage.
Human beings want to belong. In this passage, we read the story of two families – one to which we naturally belong and the other, a supernatural family, into which we are invited.
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You can’t know how to live unless you know what kind of story you’re in. In this passage, the apostle Paul introduces some of the most famous chapters in the Bible by giving us an overview of the Christian story, and inviting us into it.
What do we do about the darkness of this world? What does the future hold for this world? Those are huge, scary questions. But this passage gives us answers through this mysterious experience called the transfiguration of Jesus.
Love in the shadow of death. That’s a poetic way of describing life as we know it. But what if you could know a love that would never die? Someone you could love and be loved by forever? In the miracle of raising his friend from death to life, Jesus reveals how and who that love could be.
Even when life is at its best, there’s something about it that still leaves us disappointed. What if there was something that didn’t erase the disappointments of this world, but transformed your experience of them by giving you a taste of a future joy for which this present world is headed?
We think of our lives as a story. But every good story has a struggle, and our stories are no different. How do we face our struggle with evil? Even if you’re skeptical that you struggle with evil, this passage helps all of us.
When we refuse to see people for who they truly are, that blindness has destructive power in our relationships. This week Jesus shows us that if we are blind to who He truly is, then we can’t see others or even ourselves for who we truly are. Join us for another strange encounter with Jesus.
What would have to happen in our lives to realize something is destroying us? Sometimes the most loving thing someone could do for us is expose its true nature. That is what Jesus is doing in this passage.
What would have to happen in our lives to realize something is destroying us? Sometimes the most loving thing someone could do for us is expose its true nature. That is what Jesus is doing in this passage.
Is the most important thing in the world something everyone has to figure out for themselves? Or is it possible that there is one thing that is the most important thing for every person in every time and every place? This passage helps us with that question.
God never stops loving, even when his “hand“ is hidden. His children’s joy is to receive his love and give it generously to others, delighting in divine love and resting in the eternal embrace of the Lord God Almighty— Who was and is and is to come!
Humans make sense of the world by means of stories, especially redemptive stories. This passage in the book of Ruth gives us a deeper glimpse into what redemption means and how it's accomplished.
In order to face the darkness of this world, we need something more than cheap sentimentality. Mary's visit to Elizabeth in the gospel of Luke shows us where to find it.
Whenever we open ourselves up to love and romance, we risk getting hurt. But the book of Ruth promises us that if we are willing to risk big, there is a great reward on the other side. Join us as we continue our Advent series in the book of Ruth.
Our longing for a better world is deep in our bones. But is there a connection between what God is doing in the world and what we're supposed to do? Join us this week as we explore this question.
What is God‘s plan for my life? God responds to this and other life-questions not with mere information but with never-failing love. The continuing story of Ruth shows how love from the heart of God blesses those who receive it, as well as those who receive it through them.
The book of Ruth shows us what God is doing about a world that's falling apart. But the amazing and precious thing is that it does so by showing us what God is doing in the life of one poor, broken widow whose life is falling apart.
Joy is the birthright of every child of God, and praise is the first language of all creation. When we join the universe in praising God, he embraces us into communion with the Divine and fills our lives with joy.
Hope is a picture of what you believe is possible. This psalm helps us to picture the nature of our true hope, and gives us the wonder to believe it truly is possible.
Of all the questions that matter to humans, perhaps the deepest and most central question is that of identity: “Who am I, and am I loved and accepted?” If the answer to that question is in doubt, we experience what many call despair. This psalm answers that question.
Doubt in God isn’t just an intellectual problem, it’s a deeply emotional experience that is also a nearly universal human phenomenon. The notion that we can solve that problem is too simplistic, but this psalm gives us some helpful ways of working through it.
Along with depression, anxiety, and addiction, loneliness is one of the biggest health crises in our world today. This psalm has a lot to say about our experience of loneliness, as well as a culture like ours that produces so much loneliness.
Sometimes in life we become discouraged and distracted by what we see. Especially, when it seems that there are no consequences for those who do evil. Psalm 73 reminds us that evil will not triumph over the the righteous reign of Christ nor over His redeemed people. All evildoers are called to submit to the Gospel of Christ
Acceptance and anger feel like total opposites, and yet the Bible talks as if we’re supposed to integrate them into one coherent life. How can we do that without degenerating into either apathy or rage? This psalm shows us a way forward.
Depression exhausts and isolates those who suffer in its darkness. God’s word offers the light of truth and the power of God‘s presence.
Anxiety affects all of us, and is one of the most debilitating emotions we can experience. But praying this psalm helps us to become a less-anxious presence.
Shame controls us. We will do just about anything to avoid feeling it. But God's Word offers us a path to freedom. Join us this week as we learn to pray through our shame.
All of life is a series of losses. But if we don’t grieve those losses, we’ll never experience true healing. This Psalm is one of the most raw expressions of grief in the Bible, but also one of the most healing if we listen to what it teaches us about processing our grief.
What does it look like to grow in mental and emotional health? The Psalms are ancient therapy, and this Psalm gives us an excellent overview of how to process our emotions.
The writer of Ecclesiastes warns us of a grievous evil that weighs heavy on humankind. An evil that has brought havoc and devastation to countless lives. But we live in a world that desperately tries to ignore and deny that this evil evenness exists. Join us as we seek to grow in wisdom, by looking at an uncomfortable truth.
When we place our faith in Jesus, we are redeemed into God’s story. Living redeemed means finding joy in God‘s promise to bless us and make us a blessing to all the world.
We live in a world that increasingly values cultural diversity. But that is not a new vision. Revelation 7 shows us that this has always been God's vision for the world, and how he fulfills it. *Please excuse the white noise for the first part of the sermon. We had some technical difficulties and it is resolved right around the 19:54 mark.
Our culture trains us to separate physical reality (the "real world") from spiritual reality (God's world). But what would it look like to live our faith publicly in such a way that those two worlds come near, and even become one world?
While our culture says that sharing your faith is wrong, even some atheists say that if Christians really believe the gospel is the way to abundant life, the only thing that makes moral, rational sense is to share that faith. So why don’t we? In this passage, Jesus helps us to understand that we are missing something.
How do you makes sense of Jesus and the gospel to a world in which Christianity is meaningless, or even seen as harmful and destructive? Jesus' encounter with the woman at the well has a lot to show us about that.
We have no problem publicly advocating for our convictions about many things (e.g. politics) because we believe they address ultimate questions about the wellbeing of the whole world. What if the gospel, rightly understood, has more to say to those questions than anything else?
In this passage, Jesus has a lot to show us about reparations, and how we might think about this controversial subject.
In Matthew 25, Jesus says he's the King before whom every human will one day give an account of their life. What is the basis of his assessment of our lives? What is his desire for us? This passage shows us.
How should Christians think about and navigate all the competing ideologies and theories about justice? And especially, how can we do so in a way that leads not to division, but to greater peace and justice in the world?
What is the relationship between justice and faith? Many feel that faith should be kept private, while justice is public. But what if living a life of justice not only allows for faith to be a part of it, what if real justice requires it?
It's common to think of Christianity as a form of cultural imperialism: turning everyone into mindless clones. But what if the gospel is the one thing that can affirm and honor all cultures, yet unite them in a common story that bring true justice and peace to the world?
It’s common to think Jesus divides the world into the immoral, irreligious people and the good, moral, religious people. But what if that’s not the distinction he makes? Even more, what if the road he advocates is the only road that can truly lead us to the things we desire so passionately (freedom, authenticity)?
What is the good life and what does it mean to be a good person? The verse we know as the Golden Rule (“do unto others…”) is dependent on what Jesus talks about right before that: our relationship with God. In this passage, Jesus shows us how those things are connected.
Our lives are full of longings for something we feel is missing from ordinary experience. What would it look like to find that? What would it look like to help others find it as well? Jesus’s perplexing statement about pearls and pigs shows us.
The Meaning: to judge means to put people into categories.
The Problem: Sin has hurt us all, and pain distorts our perception, so that now we all have the tendency to put other people into categories that we would not put ourselves into. Jesus says that sin makes us all hypocrites.
The Warning: Jesus warns us that because we all have the same problem we WILL be put into the same categories as we put others into.
The Cure: Jesus has taken the judgement we deserve so that now we can face our own hypocrisy. And when we do, it allows Him to heal us. And to the degree that we are healed is the degree to which He transforms us from Hurting Hypocrites into Holy Healers, from a community of condemnation to a community of reconciliation.
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Jesus talked constantly about “the kingdom of God.” But what is it? Last week, we look at what this passage shows us about how we get changed. This week, we look at what Jesus shows us about how the world gets changed. It’s all wrapped up in this idea of “the kingdom.”
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In this passage, Jesus charts a path for life transformation and world transformation. Over the next two weeks, we’ll look at both. This week, Jesus shows us how we experience personal transformation.
No one disagrees with the notion that greed is a problem. The problem is that no one thinks greed is their problem. However, Jesus presents a very different view. Through three pictures, Jesus shows us the nature of greed that lures every human heart and points us to a better way: the way of generosity that leads to spiritual transformation.
When our desire for a better world is constantly frustrated by the injustices and cruelties of this world, the result is often despair. But the resurrected Jesus leads people from defeat, darkness, and despair to truth, light and joy.
By ending the Lord’s Prayer with the word “evil,” Jesus is saying that true spirituality is constantly aware of the reality of evil, and constantly praying about it. In the last verse, Jesus shows us how to walk through the minefield of evil in the world and not just survive, but thrive.
Forgiveness is a difficult topic for all of us, afterall it's not our default setting. In the Lord's prayer Jesus shows us how our struggle to forgive is connected to the forgiveness of God. As we see the fullness of God's forgiveness to us, we are enabled to trust God enough to forgive those who sin against us.
Jesus affirms our physical needs and instructs us to pray for them. But our physical needs are also connected to a much deeper need we often won’t reach out for unless every other option is taken off the table. Why?
Throughout history, we’ve experienced a tension between longing for a world beyond this world, and longing for the healing of this world. In teaching us to pray “your kingdom come,” Jesus shows us that those two things don’t have to be in tension with each other.
What is the point and the power of prayer? Jesus shows us here in what is perhaps the most famous prayer of all time. This week we look at the first actual request in the prayer: Hallowed be your name.
At the very heart of Jesus’ picture of the transformed life is prayer. In the first line of this most famous of all prayers, Jesus shows us that if we want to know how to pray, we have to know to whom we pray.
Before Jesus shows us how to pray he tells us how not to pray. But this isn’t a formula. Very often we don’t even know what our deepest needs really are. Join us as Jesus reconnects us to the deepest needs of the human heart.
Jesus affirms many of the reasons many today are “done” with religion. But instead of telling people to go do their own thing, he says, “Follow me, I’ll show you a better way.” In this passage, Jesus shows us that authentic spirituality is bound up in something he calls righteousness.
“Love your enemies” is Jesus’ most unique teaching, and also his most difficult, painful, and offensive. And yet, the deeper we follow him into the pain of evil done to us, the more he leads us through it into a world of “perfect” love.
What do you do when you suffer personal insult or loss at the hands of someone else? Jesus’s answer sounds outlandish to us. But what if the way of Jesus is the true way of ultimate human flourishing?
Jesus is asking us to imagine a world where oaths are completely unnecessary because people are always completely true, and then to live as if we’re already dwelling in that world. He shows us how in this passage.
Sex and sexuality, marriage and divorce are not easy topics to engage with, irrespective of how we seek to address them. Jesus shows us that there are deeper issues at play when considering these matters. In his words of wisdom, we’re exposed to a deeper problem than we realize, and pointed to a satisfying love greater than we could ever hope for.
Many people (both religious and otherwise) feel instinctively that there is a higher life we should be living, and that it requires some kind of transformation to get there. Jesus affirmed this, and shows us that it begins by dealing with anger and contempt in our hearts. Our transformation begins with reconciliation.
As 2020 closes out we all need hope for a better tomorrow. The prophet Isaiah gives us a picture of a tomorrow that is not only better than 2020 has been, but better than we could ever imagine. It is a picture that holds hope for tomorrow and power for today. Join us as we conclude our sermon series: Jesus of the Prophets.
Justice is a huge topic in our culture, and hugely divisive. The politicization has damaged our ability to talk about justice and find real solutions. But if we're willing to look, the Bible gives us unique resources.
Modern culture is deeply committed to the idea of progress: that history is a story headed someplace good. But often, no matter how much progress we make, it feels like we’re stuck in a doom loop. This famous prophecy from Micah shows us how Jesus helps us in the midst of our stuck places.
One of the biggest realities we are wrestling with this past year is the reality that we are not in control. We desperately want control over the world, yet are constantly crushed when our attempts fail. This is an admittedly bleak picture. But it is precisely into the bleakness of this reality that this passage about a coming King speaks most powerfully.
Many people are spiritually curious, but suspicious of traditional religion. How would Jesus speak into this? What is authentic spirituality? Jesus shows us in this passage, which is about his relationship to God’s word.
In the beatitudes, Jesus offers us an “aspirational identity.” The challenge is, much of it isn’t anything we would aspire to. Especially persecution. But what if Jesus sees more of reality than we do? What if persecution is part of a greater life, and a deeper joy, he offers?
We live in a world that is being torn apart by division, polarization, tribalism, demonization, and violence. Our world desperately needs people to bridge the division and begin the work of reweaving a world that’s tearing apart. Jesus shows us how in the seventh beatitude.
We live in an incredibly distracted age (especially digital distractions), with many different things competing for our limited attention. Yet what we give our utmost attention to is deeply connected to the persons we become. How? Jesus shows us in the sixth beatitude.
If you’ve ever felt like there are corners of your life that aren’t quite “right,” and that there’s another kind of life available to you (of peace, joy, light, beauty, goodness, etc), Jesus shows us what that is. It’s righteousness. What does that mean? Join us as we explore the fourth beatitude.
We live in a time of profound social, political, and religious unrest. Many of us are questioning what the Church's relationship to government, to justice, and to power ought to be. Jesus tells us: "Blessed are the meek." But what does that mean? And does that hold any answers to the questions our world is asking? Join us as we seek to listen to Jesus.
Ungrieved losses lead to unhealed lives. This beatitude (“blessed are those who mourn”) gives us Jesus’s answer to the grief of our pain and loss, enabling us to grieve our losses, and find healing for them.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is inviting us to become a different people. It’s all about who we are becoming. But it begins by showing us what God is doing.
"The kingdom of God" is at the heart of Jesus's message and the life he offers. But unless we understand what the kingdom is, we won't be able to enter into the good life he offers us in the Sermon on the Mount.
Have you ever wondered why God allows such pain and suffering in the world? It's a common objection against belief in the God of the Bible. It is also a common question for Christians to wrestle with. The good news is that God has given us a whole book of the Bible that addresses that very issue. Join us as we explore the problem of suffering in the book of Job.
To our modern ears, the second coming of Jesus Christ sounds like a flight from reality. But what if it is the ultimate reality, in light of which nothing in our lives can remain the same? Whether you're exploring following Jesus, or have been following him for decades, none of us can ignore his emphasis on this and its implications for our lives. Join us for the concluding sermon in our series on Revelation!
Our lives are full of struggles. What would make the defining difference in your life? Our world is full of evil and brokenness. What would make the defining difference in our world? This passage, the climax of the book of Revelation shows us. It's the presence of God. It makes all the difference in the world.
It's easy to think of Revelation as a fantastical book that's only concerned with the future, and therefore meaningless for our lives right now. But Revelation gave the first Christians something that enabled them to face unimaginable suffering and persecution. If we see what they saw, we can have what they had.
Stories help us makes sense of our lives. Especially, they give us hope, because we want to imagine that the story is headed somewhere good. If that impulse is just an evolutionary code, then we are fools to believe it. But this passage shows us that every storyline finds its ultimate happy ending in Jesus.
Sometimes things look evil on the surface, but when you dig a little deeper, you find a hidden beauty and power. The idea of God's judgment is like that. Few things are more offensive in our culture. But this passage shows us a God whose justice brings transformative healing.
There are few questions more controversial than that of the relationship between church and state. Should Christians be involved in politics? If so, what should that look like? Revelation 13 offers us some astounding answers!
We are all involved in a cosmic war, whether we like it or not. In this passage, we learn about the start of that war, the weapons of the warfare, and our counterintuitive place in the war.
God wants to use your story as part of his story to change the world. How does he do that? It’s all wrapped up in this idea of bearing witness. This is one of the main themes in the book of Revelation, and this passage shows us three aspects.
Interruption is when something gets off track, but then gets back on track. Disruption is when the road gets blown up. We are living in a time of tremendous disruption. In such times, it’s easy to feel like God is doing something to you. But what if he wants to do something in you? That’s what this passage is all about.
The recent events in our country compel us to grapple with this issue. What does the Bible say about racism? What do we need to see in order to respond? And what should that response look like? Join us as we look at a gospel-shaped response to racism.
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Stopping to think about the nature of the Church is a difficult exercise because we all come with our own experiences, thoughts, and questions about the Church. With all of that on the table, the book of revelation shows us a picture of the Church that is more than we expect and calls us to rethink our understanding of the church, whether we’re Christians or not.
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Facing the question of evil is a painful question, but one of the most necessary for our spiritual, emotional, and psychological health. Revelation offers God’s answer to evil, and it begins in this passage
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When our lives are filled with anxiety, uncertainty, and fatigue, how can we find a different way to respond? Worship can change our life. Because to worship is to get a glimpse of a different reality. And when we change the way we see reality, it transforms the way we respond to reality.
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Have you ever felt like you were made for something? Is that just an evolutionary drive, or is it real? This passage is a letter from Jesus to the church. But it’s really all about finding and surrendering yourself to that something you were made for. The church shows us what that is.
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Revelation isn’t just about the future. It meets us in the middle of our mess, pain, and suffering and gives us a bigger story that helps us not just to endure those things, but to flourish in the midst of them.
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Many think of Revelation as a puzzle book: the goal of reading it is to crack the code and unlock the events of the future. But Revelation is more like a picture book. The goal of reading is to immerse yourself in God’s way of seeing the world. Because when we change the way we see reality, it changes the way we respond to reality.
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Polarization is one of the biggest challenges in our society. Some people would say it’s important to take a stand and protect your beliefs and way of life, even if it means polarization. Others would say we should abandon primitive religious belief structures and work together on the things that really matter. In this passage, God offers us a third way. This week we conclude our series on the vision of CWE Church talking about cultural renewal, especially in the city. How do we relate to the city? God shows us in this famous passage.
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Life in this world is full of suffering and unfulfilled desires, which can lead us to find ways (sex, drugs, social media, etc.) to escape the pain. It would be easy to think that our big struggle in life is with suffering. But this passage tells us our real struggle is with hope, and that if you can transform your understanding of hope, it will transform your experience of suffering.
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We live in a profoundly justice-oriented culture, but it’s still a controversial topic. Some Christians thing the gospel is only about “spiritual matters.” Other Christians think the church should get rid of primitive doctrines like sin, atonement, and conversion. Many other-than-Christians wonder why we should listen to the Bible at all. Jesus, however, has a lot to say about justice, as we find out in this passage.
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