Good Shepherd - Hayward: Recent Episodes
Good Shepherd
Pastor Dawit concludes our Strengthen the Roots series by finishing up like Paul and giving thanks for the gift of God in Christ and the gift of each other from God.
What do Legos and Jenga have to do with Jesus and the Church? Check out this message from Pastor Josh as he tries not to break his daughter's lego set while exploring the last of the imperatives Paul gives to the Colossian church.
Pastor Dawit elaborates on the relationship between being rooted in Christ and built upon Him and what that means for us -- His followers and His Body.
Pastor Josh kicks off the threefold encouragement of Paul to be rooted, built up, and established in Christ Jesus through faith by exploring what it looks like to stay rooted in the person and work of Jesus instead of scrolling for meaning.
Join us as we begin a new series exploring ways we can Strengthen the Roots of our faith individually and communally by leaning on Colossians 2:6-7. Pastor Dawit explores the context and diversity of the Church in Colossae and what we can learn from them as believers today.
Closing out the weekend of IMPACT conference Pastor Josh plays with the them "Bent but not Broken" by exploring the prophecy of Isaiah 42 where Jesus is revealed as a Gentle Savior who will not break those who are bruised.
The Gospel authors basically skip from the Birth of Jesus to the Baptism of Jesus. Pastor Josh explores why they leap past the first 30 years of Jesus' life and why His baptism is important for our understanding of our own baptisms.
Happy New Year! As we step into another year Pastor Josh tames his resolution cynicism and explores the seasons of life and how God works through them all so that you don't have to put so much pressure on yourself.
Pastor Dawit digs into the practical implications of the birth of Jesus the Christ for this Christmas Day Sunday - Merry Christmas!
Pastor Josh piggy backs off of Pastor Dawit's sermon from Last Sunday in order to share how Jesus' birth stopped the world to declare that God was born to save people from their sins.
As we wrap up Advent and prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus the Messiah Pastor Dawit explores the prophecy of Isaiah 7 where the world is promised that the sign of their salvation would be the arrival of Immanuel -- God With Us and what this means for our lives and our importance to God.
Pastor Dawit takes us into the second week of Advent exploring what the arrival of Jesus meant to Israel and what our waiting for His second arrival means for us today.
As we begin this Advent season Pastor Josh sets the stage for us to explore the connections between Isaiah's prophecies of the Messiah and how Jesus fulfills them for humanity and all of creation.
In our final Old School Rhythm we look to the 12 Spies who scoped out the Promised Land only to return with fear and doubt but also confident faith that trusted God's leading despite the very obvious odds.
Exploring one of Pastor Josh's favorite stories from Scripture and topics - hospitality - we see how Abraham's entertaining was always pointing God's people to the Promised One to come.
The Year of Jubilee was an incredible commandment given to God's people but sadly, it was never observed. Pastor Dawit shows up how the year of Jubilee foreshadowed the work of Christ who was the only faithful one to ever complete the good news of freedom and forgiveness found in Jubilee.
God's relationship with creation and humanity is rooted in story. Like any good storyline its filled with ups, downs, and everything-in-betweens. Pastor Dawit tells some stories while walking us through why it's crucial to retell God's stories over and over from each generation to the next.
Pastor Matt Behrens joins the Good Shepherd fam to discuss fellowship, partnership, and how to Sabbath Well for this third installment of the Old School Rhythms series.
In Week 2 of our series exploring Old School Rhythms of God's people Pastor Josh breaks down a dense passage of Deuteronomy in order to see how fun giving can be in light of the joyous generosity of God.
As we kick off a new series revisiting Old School Rhythms of God's people, Pastor Dawit explores what it looks like to live a life shaped by worship.
The world is filled with so many options for judgment and comparison. How often do you find yourself wrestling with how you stack up against someone else? How many times have you vocalized that fear or anxiety? All too often Christians are unable or unwilling to engage in vulnerable conversations with one another. Pastor Dawit encourages us to not only engage but to root our identity in Christ Jesus who unites us all as equals before His Cross.
In the first installment of this new series exploring the ways that church's words and actions don't always make sense with the Church's identity -- Pastor Dawit explores the issue of the church slipping into such a strong and specific culture that it actually turns people away from the Gospel that the Church is commanded to proclaim.
As we wrap up a short series on Paul's Letter to the Colossians we learn that persevering in prayer is just responding to the gift Christ Jesus who is eternally devoted to persevering in prayer on your behalf before the Father.
The life of a Christian is indicated by a shift in the way of living -- not in some motivational self-help ever-improving kind of way but in an ever-increasing dependence kind of way. The life of a Christian isn’t a new rulebook but living into your baptism.
Live your life! For sure, just continue to live your lives with Christ — walk with Jesus and keep up with your relationship with him and you will find healing, refreshment, and rest.
The Christ Hymn in Colossians 1:15-20 is one of the earliest Christian Hymns. What picture of Jesus does this song paint for us? Jesus Christ is kind of a big deal… Christ is the mediator of creation + Christ is the mediator of salvation.
As we begin a series on Paul's letter to the Colossians, Pastor Josh explores the threats and temptations to the believers in Colossae and how we can learn from them here in Hayward. Big words and huge concepts aside there are some fundamental helps to following Jesus faithfully and filled with faith, hope, and love.
Pastor Dawit discusses the pain and suffering caused by trauma but shows us how God promises to bear the weight, not only of our sin, but of the trauma we've experienced and the pain that we deal with on a daily basis.
The Lord's Prayer is recited in worship every single Sunday. What was Jesus teaching his disciples to pray? Why did Jesus highlight these specific petitions? Are they meant just as a spiritual practice or do they impact our everyday lives? Pastor Josh dives into the Lord's Prayer asking the same question that spurred on the instruction: "Lord, teach us to pray."
The Three-in-One God Christians worship is one of the most mysterious but also foundational beliefs we hold. How can God be One God but Three Persons? How is God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- distinct yet One? Pastor Dawit breaks this down for us, not as a definitive answer but a starting point for exploring the mystery of the Godhead.
For Pentecost Sunday this year Pastor Josh invites us to recall the promise of Jesus to send the Holy Spirit in His absence as our helper and advocate. Until Jesus comes back the Holy Spirit teaches us and reminds us of everything Jesus said in order to encourage us with the hope of His return.
Pastor Dawit packs this message full of insights into the Ascension of Jesus -- what's the nature, power, and meaning of the Ascension for our lives and the plan of God's salvation for the world.
Pastor Josh explores the dual meaning of the term selah used in Psalm 67 as it relates to the Resurrection of Jesus.
Drawing on the powerful imagery and promises of Rev. 21:1-7 Pastor Dawit shares how God is victorious over our suffering through the victory of Christ over death on the cross.
Jesus appears for a third time to His disciples after rising from the dead to put Peter's loyalty to the test and ask him some probing questions. He also gives him some pretty important commands. Pastor Josh ties this encounter of the Resurrected Christ with the victory song of the Lamb described by John in Revelation 7 in order to encourage us to listen to the Voice of the Lamb as well.
Pastor Dawit connects the appearance of Jesus after His Resurrection where the Disciples catch an abundance of fish with how the Risen Christ forgives, feeds, and sustains all of us in order to carry on His mission in the world.
On Good Friday we saw Christ’s sacrificial death written into the lyrics of Psalm 31. In the victory song of Psalm 118 we see the triumph of God in the resurrection.
We began this season of Lent with the question: What is the significance of God’s loving sacrifice? As we come to the end of the Lenten journey to this place — the Cross of Christ on Golgotha — we come to know the answer.
Pastor Dawit shares how God transforms Christians from death to life through the power of Jesus Christ. We do good works out of enormous gratitude for God’s salvation granted to us through Jesus Christ through faith by grace alone.
Pastor Josh explores the message of Psalm 121 that the Lord is Your Keeper and how this promise is not only the center/heart of this song but reveals to us that the Jesus is Your Keeper — he is at the center, he is the heart of the song of God’s salvation. As we journey toward Jerusalem to the cross of Christ let us lift up our voices and sing the words of this Song of Ascent!
With a surprise visit Vicar Paul preaches about the love of God and how that impacts the way we worship and work out our faith in the community.
The psalmist’s only path out of despair was to remember the goodness of God and to rely on him to be faithful in the present too. Pastor Dawit shares how we frequently fall into the trap of despair when we contemplate our sin or the evil in the world, but we must remind ourselves of God’s faithfulness in the past so that we can trust him in the present.
Pastor Josh shares why you can trust that God has not, does not, and will not abandon you. Confess your sins and be confident that he is faithful to forgive all because of Christ, only because of Christ, always because of Christ.
Pastor Dawit shares how believers can contentedly rest in God’s presence, because they understand God is simply pleased with them, outside of their skills and abilities.