Atlanta Westside Presbyterian Church

Everyone walks through life “rooted” in some core beliefs, whether explicitly religious or not. Paul argues that only the person and work of Jesus can give us the life we truly want. But in order to choose him we must understand how captivating the alternatives can be, why Jesus is superior to all of them, and what only he can do for us. 

In this section of Colossians, Paul opens up about the nature of ministry; it's many challenges and joys. Paul also makes clear that anyone and everyone who desires can enter into the mystery of union with Christ because it has been completely revealed in Jesus. It is not for a select few, but for all who come with simple, humble repentance and faith.

Paul wants to expand our vision of Jesus, deepen the roots of our trust in him, and tighten our grip on his Good News. In the process, he exposes multiple ways that we tend to shrink Jesus to a manageable size. Do you think of Jesus as so darn nice that it’s hard to imagine ever being intimidated by him? Are you so cynical about the church that it’s hard to take Jesus seriously? Are you offended t...

People who understand and believe the good news of Jesus increasingly bear good fruit in their lives. This is part of why the good news is good: Because it changes us! Paul's thanksgiving and prayers for the Colossians subtly challenge us to actively participate in our own transformation.

What difference does it make to believe that Jesus rose from the dead? Paul says it means carrying the death of Jesus, and looking for the life of Jesus—in our bodies. This dynamic engine of grace includes repentance and release, along with expectation to see the “weight of glory” in the mosaic God makes of our own stories and the people around us. The very physical, bodily nature of God’s redempt...

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Like Facebook or One Drive attempts to do, considering the evil, misery, and sadness we all face in our lives, this story of Jesus entering Jerusalem is meant to bring hope through seven pictures, pictures that give us subtle, but important details of God’s love for us.

Following Jesus means our supreme allegiance belongs to him alone. This commitment can generate conflict in our relationships, even within our own families. However, it does not leave us alone with Jesus against the world. Rather, we express our allegiance to him by “receiving” or welcoming into relationship everyone who belongs to him, from great prophets to the “littlest” disciple. Jesus undersc...

What frees us from fear of people is the fear of God. Fear of people paralyzes us, whereas fear of God energizes us. Here Jesus names four particular fears and counters each with a powerful promise of God: 1. Fear of exposure with the promise of public vindication 2. Fear of death with the promise of bodily resurrection 3. Fear of meaningless suffering with the promise of providential care 4. Fear...

The cost of following Jesus is persecution. It takes different forms in different times and places, but there are no exceptions. Thankfully, Jesus provides for us in the midst of persecution, including opportunities for mission, the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and escape for the sake of mission. Ultimately, Jesus’ promise that “the one who endures to the end will be saved” is based on his own enduring...

If Jesus calls you to follow him, he will always send you to represent him to the world with both your words and your actions. This doesn't look exactly like the disciples' initial ministry to their fellow Jews, but it does include sharing fellowship and the tasks of ministry with all different kinds of other believers. Ultimately, God holds us accountable for what we know, and supremely for what...

When Jesus heals two blind men and warns them not to tell, they tell everyone. When he heals a mute man, the crowds are wowed, but the Pharisees think he's in cahoots with evil. We might expect Jesus to be frustrated by these divergent reactions to his ministry. Instead he has compassion for the "harassed and helpless" crowds. He sees us as sheep needing a shepherd, and like a harvest field needin...

A distraught father and a sick woman who come to Jesus have more in common than we might think. Both exercise desperate, risk-taking faith in the power of Jesus to heal, and both are rewarded with a bigger vision of Jesus and a new relationship to him. As we learn to distrust our own limited resources, we discover Jesus to be more than enough for us, too. 

By calling a tax collector as a disciple and eating a meal with his friends, Jesus sparks a debate: What sort of people should God's people associate with? His response uses metaphors about weddings, garments and wine to reframe the whole question. Rejecting simplistic binaries like righteous vs. sinners, fasting vs. feasting, or new vs. old, Jesus centers everything on his own person and work. Be...

Jesus healed a paralytic in front of the religious leaders, which, perhaps unexpectedly, sparked a controversy. This is because Jesus healed the paralytic by saying, “your sins are forgiven,” which the scribes felt was a right only ascribed to God. Exactly. Jesus is clearly revealing that he is God, not just some teacher or healer. Moreover, we won’t see Jesus is God if we fail to believe that God...

Jesus’ healing of two demon-possessed men illustrates his authority over the forces of darkness. It also raises some sticky questions about the reliability of the Bible and the reality of evil. By wrestling with them we learn that Scripture is reliable and trustworthy, even if it keeps us a bit off-balance with some of its little riddles; that demons are real and active in the world, but they are...

Jesus' calming of the storm reveals his authority over all of creation, not just sickness and evil spirits. His disciples' surprise suggests that even they hadn't fully grasped who he is—and Jesus' gentle challenge confirms it: "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" (v. 26). Our faith in Jesus, then, can be little or great, weak or strong, and everywhere in between. Ultimately, though, the q...

Jesus' healings remind us that his grace always comes first, and our faith is always a response to it. Faith means confidence in the absolute power of Jesus and a willingness to follow wherever he leads. Actually following him in the details of our lives is harder. Learning to trust him requires us to name our own internal obstacles and compare them to the soaring promises of Jesus to those who fo...

When Jesus heals people, it's not just about their bodies. The leper needs more than being restored to community, and the centurion needs more than a healed servant. Like us, they both need a deeper kind of inclusion that only Jesus can give and only Jesus can ensure. That's why faith—trusting in the absolute power and wisdom of Jesus—is the instrument for entering into his new kingdom reality, bo...

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An imaginative exploration of what Jesus’ first three days might have looked like, to help us understand the mystery of the incarnation.

The familiar images of Isaiah 40 surprise us with a powerful duel message: God wants to comfort us with his coming, and he wants us to prepare for his presence.

Isaiah 11 has three peaks of prophetic fulfillment: in Isaiah’s time, in the first coming of Jesus, and finally in his second coming to make all things new. When we put our hope in the God of this story, he enables us to live lives marked more by wonder than worry.

God tells us that he desires to bring peace to us - not just the end of the conflict, but the full flourishing of all things. That's why he sends the Messiah, Jesus Christ, to us. To be a King over us who brings endless boundless peace. God wants to make you whole, but to do it, he has to rule over you. Refusing to let God rule will lead to a self-wrought ruin and darkness that comes from rejectin...

Matthew 1:23 declares that the birth of Jesus fulfilled a sign promised by Isaiah over 700 years before. Isaiah's original prophecy, however, was not a simple prediction of a future event. The same God who took on flesh in the person of Jesus was present with his untrusting people through centuries of perilous uncertainty. Isaiah's challenge to be "firm in faith" (v. 9) is our same challenge today...