WestSide Sermons

God is Stronger Than Temptation

March 01, 2020 14:55 - 115 MB

Unable to escape sin, the psalmist discovers the joy of being forgiven. Jesus, fully immersed in being a member of humankind, reveals that temptation cannot rule over the word of God.

Ash Wednesday

February 27, 2020 03:48 - 94.9 MB

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent, which is the season leading up to Easter, the celebration of God raising Jesus from the dead.

The season of Epiphany ends with Transfiguration Sunday, when we hear how Jesus is transfigured, literally shining with the glory of God. In Christ, the glory of God is revealed. Mountains are familiar places in scripture; the Exodus reading reminds us of another place where God's glory shines.

Where We Find Life

February 16, 2020 16:27 - 96.4 MB

Deuteronomy reminds us where we find life. In the Gospel, Jesus reveals that sin goes much deeper than our outward actions.

The Beatitudes

February 02, 2020 20:23 - 88.1 MB

Appearances can be deceiving. Paul asserts the foolishness of the cross that turns out to be wise and human wisdom that turns out to be foolish. And in the Beatitudes, Jesus challenges our perception of how and where to find God's blessing.

A Light to Follow

January 26, 2020 17:15 - 85.7 MB

In the darkness, the light shines, and that light is the Christ. But God does not stop in simply giving us a light to illuminate our lives, but God also gives us a light to follow by calling us disciples. And what God says, is.

Follow

January 19, 2020 16:39 - 86.9 MB

The Good News, embodied in Jesus, draws us in to be followers. We do not follow only for our own sake, however. In Isaiah, we hear how God's intent is for salvation to reach the ends of the earth.

Drawn to Follow

January 19, 2020 16:39 - 86.9 MB

The Good News, embodied in Jesus, draws us in to be followers. We do not follow only for our own sake, however. In Isaiah, we hear how God's intent is for salvation to reach the ends of the earth.

Jesus is Baptized

January 12, 2020 20:14 - 100 MB

Today's text proclaim to us who God is and what God does. In the Gospel, Jesus is baptized and is revealed to be God's Son, the beloved. In Isaiah, we see how God works through one for the sake of all.

In the Beginning

January 05, 2020 19:58 - 105 MB

In the beginning was the Word . . John’s Gospel begins. John 1 gives us a cosmic view of who Jesus is and, yet, still reveals Jesus to be among us. In Jesus, we see God and find God to be grand and cosmic, and close and personal and in whom we receive grace upon grace and through whom, Ephesians tells us, we are adopted as God’s children. Good news!

The Savior is Born

December 29, 2019 19:33 - 78.3 MB

In this Gospel reading, we hear the weeping of parents as they mourn their children when Herod responds ferociously to the idea of a new king being born. But we also hear God's promise in Isaiah that "he became their savior in all their distress."

Christmas Eve

December 24, 2019 14:46 - 98 MB

The birth of Jesus.

Emmanuel, God With Us

December 22, 2019 22:13 - 90.1 MB

What God says, is. We see this as God's messenger, Gabriel, assures Joseph that a life with Mary is the life to which he is called, and when the child born to Joseph and Mary is named "Jesus," which means "the one who saves." And so he does. Emmanuel, God With Us!

The Promise Is Now!

December 15, 2019 19:32 - 89 MB

Sometimes we wonder. John the Baptist is wondering today. In response to his doubts and wonderings, Jesus puts the promise of Isaiah into his ear and an announcement that the promise is now! It is good news that gives us hope.

God's Kingdom Is Near

December 08, 2019 17:24 - 88.7 MB

In this second Sunday in Advent, we hear the voice of John the Baptist whose voice announces that God’s kingdom is near. What happens when the kingdom is near? Repentance. In Isaiah, even creation experiences new life that is not only new but re-ordered, re-structured. New.

Building a Kingdom

November 24, 2019 21:59 - 104 MB

On Christ the King Sunday, we see how Jesus uses his kingship: to die so that we would be forgiven. In forgiving sinners, Jesus builds a kingdom.

Building Trust

November 17, 2019 14:45 - 103 MB

When scary things happen in the world and it looks like it may even be the end, Jesus provides a promise to hang onto and trust.

Building Grace

November 10, 2019 13:56 - 7.47 MB

Once again, the religious leaders try to trip Jesus up by seeing how he will answer a difficult question. But Jesus is not about theoreticals; he is about mercy and grace, delivered in the here and now.

Building Generosity

November 03, 2019 15:01 - 109 MB

Jesus surprises everyone by choosing a sinner to host him for dinner. Generous grace begets a generous response.

Building Humility

October 27, 2019 22:39 - 91.4 MB

Sometimes, the work of God is to put us in our place. Might it even be the building work of God? Jesus has this of surprising us.

Building Pray-ers

October 20, 2019 14:32 - 107 MB

In this parable, Jesus reveals something about prayer but, more so, something about the heart of the one to whom we pray, which is for the chosen ones, that is you. When we pray, we pray with this promise.

Building Gratefulness

October 13, 2019 18:51 - 105 MB

In an act of mercy, Jesus frees ten lepers from the disease that imprisoned them and sets them on their way to being reunited to their communities. For one of those lepers, saving faith also happens and the response to saving faith? Gratefulness.

Building Faith

October 06, 2019 20:56 - 105 MB

Like many of us, the disciples want more. In this case, they want more faith. But can faith be quantified? Jesus reveals that if it were to be quantified, even faith the size of a seed would be enough.

Building a Bridge

September 29, 2019 15:10 - 102 MB

In this text, there is a chasm between heaven and hell. Who can cross it? Christ alone.

Building Mercy

September 22, 2019 15:50 - 136 MB

In this rather confusing parable, we find that as shrewd as we can be, God is shrewder still, pouring out mercy for a debt we could never pay.

Building Community

September 15, 2019 14:17 - 132 MB

In this text, Jesus reveals that God has a heart for those who are lost. Indeed, it is the lost, the lowly, the sinners whom God builds, through calling and gathering and finding, into the community that is the body of Christ.

Building Disciples

September 08, 2019 21:01 - 121 MB

What is the cost of discipleship? Jesus challenges us in this text to consider the costs, which are great. It makes us wonder: who can follow Jesus? Who gets the title “disciple?”

Jesus at a Dinner Party

September 01, 2019 20:56 - 111 MB

At a dinner party, Jesus has some suggestions for whom his host should invite to his next dinner party. What does a dinner party have to do with the work of God? In this Gospel snapshot, Jesus challenges our values and our priorities.

Jesus Heals

August 25, 2019 14:31 - 6.83 MB

On the Sabbath, Jesus’ snapshot of the Kingdom of God shares with us a miracle of healing and a message of freedom.

Be Ready

August 11, 2019 18:24 - 6.47 MB

In this snapshot of Jesus’ ministry, he warns his listeners to be ready. But his warning also comes with a promise which, like a snapshot, is worth hanging onto.

Jesus On the Sea of Galilee

July 21, 2019 18:21 - 101 MB

Today, on our roadtrip with Jesus, we find him on the Sea of Galilee, walking on water, which scares, frightens, and emboldens the disciples. Jesus reveals himself to be a rock in stormy waters.

Jesus in Jericho

July 14, 2019 15:12 - 6.2 MB

Jesus meets Zaccheaus, the tax collector in Jericho.

The Promise.

June 30, 2019 20:55 - 8.68 MB

In this Psalm, the writer seems to be singing himself into faith. Sometimes we fake it until we make it. And yet, in talking himself into faith, he stumbles upon a promise: God will not give us up to Sheol or leave us in the pit. This is a promise to cling to and a song for life.

We Cry. God Answers.

June 23, 2019 13:37 - 7.8 MB

The Psalmist cries out to God for relief from suffering, and God answers with a promise of presence and of new life for all in Christ.

Summer Roadtrip

June 16, 2019 16:25 - 6.49 MB

In Proverbs, wisdom comes to life, rejoicing in God’s world and delighting in humankind. The singer of Psalm 8 praises God, marveling at the vastness of God’s wondrous creation and humanity’s place in it.

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

June 09, 2019 15:36 - 6.95 MB

In these texts, we see how the Holy Spirit draws us in, speaks our language, and gives us a home.

Good News: United, Disrupted, Freed

June 02, 2019 17:39 - 7.55 MB

In these texts, we see that the Good News of Jesus Christ does something to us: it unites, it disrupts, it frees, it works faith where there once was no faith.

Good News: The New Commandment

May 19, 2019 13:43 - 6.45 MB

In the Gospel of John, Jesus reveals a love that serves. In Acts, the Gospel breaks open Peter’s world so that the divisions between him and his Gentile neighbors falls away, making room for the loving act of sharing the Gospel.

Good News: Jesus, the Shepherd

May 12, 2019 15:38 - 6.03 MB

As a crowd questions his identity, Jesus reminds them that he is a shepherd, who gathers, protects, and cares for his sheep. Psalm 23 brings familiar words of comfort through the shepherd who guides our paths, a promise for all.

Good News: Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples

May 05, 2019 15:59 - 7.42 MB

Post-resurrection, Jesus, for a third time, appears again to the disciples, who have gone back to their old vocation of fishing. In finding them, Jesus once again reveals himself to be the source of abundant life and commissions them to care for Jesus’ own.

Good News!

April 28, 2019 14:02 - 7.14 MB

Even jail cells and locked doors can’t keep the good news of the risen Christ away. Jesus appears to the disciples, shows them his hands and his side, and provides all they—and we—need for faith.

Easter Sunday

April 21, 2019 14:03 - 6.54 MB

We hear the Good News of Easter -- that Jesus, though he died, is not dead and has been raised!

Palm Sunday

April 14, 2019 16:12 - 7.87 MB

Today, we join Jesus as he enters into Jerusalem, where the crowd greets him like a king, shouting out praises to God. It’s the same crowd that will turn on him at the crucifixion on Friday. But Jesus is not distracted from his mission. He knows that regardless of the crowd’s adoration, he has a job to do. We wave our palms today, but we do so humbly, knowing that it our sin that will put Jesus on the cross.

Listen: Mary Anoints Jesus

April 07, 2019 19:16 - 7.7 MB

In the midst of dinner and fragrant perfume, we listen as Jesus proclaims that acts of love are never a waste. https://wslc.info/media/listen-mary-anoints-jesus

Listen: The Prodigal Son

March 31, 2019 13:40 - 7.57 MB

In a familiar text, Jesus has us listening to what God’s grace sounds like -- like a father’s welcome to a wayward son returning home. In 2 Corinthians, Paul reminds us that there is an explanation point on a life made new. https://wslc.info/media/listen-the-prodigal-son

Listen: Repentance and the Fig Tree

March 24, 2019 19:41 - 8.53 MB

In Isaiah, we listen to God’s promise to be fed with rich food that is filling and good. In Luke, we listen to Jesus challenge our thinking about why bad things happen, even while he gives us an image of God’s mercy. https://wslc.info/media/listen-repentance-and-the-fig-tree

Listen: Jesus in the Wilderness

March 10, 2019 14:02 - 6.77 MB

Out in the wilderness, Jesus is met by the devil, and his identity is tested. We listen as Jesus shares what it truly means to be the Son of God, and what it means for us to be God’s people.

Look Again: Transfiguration

March 03, 2019 19:45 - 7.72 MB

Today’s Gospel reading leads the church to refer to this day as Transfiguration Sunday, as Jesus is transfigured on the mountaintop to shine with God’s glory. In this transfiguration, we cannot help but look again at Jesus and be both challenged and comforted by what we find. https://wslc.info/media/look-again-transfiguration

Look Again: The Beatitudes

February 17, 2019 20:17 - 8.25 MB

How can you tell if you are blessed? In this part of the Gospel of Luke, in which Jesus is preaching his Sermon on the Plain, which includes the beatitudes, Jesus challenges us hearers to look again at where and when God blesses. What are the signs that God is working blessing in your life? https://wslc.info/media/look-again-the-beatitudes

Look Again: Jesus Calls the First Disciples

February 10, 2019 19:40 - 6.82 MB

As Jesus is teaching to large crowds of people, he notices a few fishermen cleaning their nets. After an abundance of fish and a few convicting words, these men leave everything behind to follow Jesus. So too does Jesus “notice” us and call us to follow him—not alone, but together as a community. https://wslc.info/media/look-again-jesus-calls-the-first-disciples

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