FaithWestwood UMC

Philippians 1:3-11 Why do you thank God for FaithWestwood? Because of all the ways we serve the community? Or maybe because it’s helping you become a deep, daring, daily disciple. It could be for showing you how to be a BLESS friend. Maybe it’s about all the great friendships you’ve made. Why do you thank God for FaithWestwood?

Lamentations 3:17-23 At life’s darkest moments, we wonder who God is, don’t we? Is God the author of my pain? Or is God on my side against it? The prophet Jeremiah wondered these same questions. And in the end he dared to hope in God’s great faithfulness.

Nehemiah 9:1-3, 6-20 Who is God now? That’s a hard question if you and your people have just spent the last seventy years in exile. So, they listen again to the story they had almost forgotten. They hear how God brought their ancestors out of Egypt. They learn that God keeps his promises. The Lord is loyal to his covenant and abounds in love.

Numbers 14:1-19 Do you know someone with a short fuse? Maybe it’s you! The Bible says that love “is not easily angered.” But some things are worth getting angry about. Well-measured anger can be a healthy response in some situations. Nine times in the Old Testament we find that “the Lord is slow to anger.” Is that how you experience God?

Psalm 86:11-17 The world can be a cruel place, can’t it? We must constantly be on guard for identity thieves, porch pirates, and online scammers. When your accounts have been emptied, when your life is threatened, and even when you’ve been unfaithful, there is one who remains on your side. That’s how gracious God is.

Psalm 103:1-14 Do you imagine God as all business? Impatient? Eager to catch you messing up? Meet the God who cares deeply, whose heart goes out to those who suffer. Get acquainted with the God who regards us with tender affection, who is compassionate. “He remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14).

Exodus 34:1-10 Is God just? We hope so, don’t we? We hope God’s justice will one day set right all this world’s wrongs. But if there was only justice, who could stand before the Almighty? Fortunately, God has also revealed his forgiving nature. Then the question remains, “How do we step into that forgiveness?”

1 Chronicles 13:1-14 Perhaps the most repulsive parts of the Bible are the violent ones. God commands the Israelites to wipe out other nations: men, women, children. The Lord strikes dead a man who touched the ark of the covenant, trying to steady it. God kills all the first-born Egyptians, so Pharaoh will set the Hebrew slaves free. Is this really the God and Father of our Lord Jesus? This Sunday...

2 Timothy 3:14-17 The Bible is full of bold, universal statements. It says only Israel’s God is the true God, while the gods of the other nations are empty idols. It claims that Jesus is Lord of heaven and earth – and that he’s the only way to salvation. If that’s true, then we have to be ready to respond to questions like these. What about people who were born and raised in Pakistan? What about f...

Genesis 1:26-31; 2:1-7 In one corner we have the Bible with its description of a six-day creation. In the other corner we have science with its belief in 3.7 billion years of evolution. But do we have to pick sides between the Bible and science? Reading Genesis 1 and 2 the way the original audience understood it, instead of through our 21-century lenses, will help us address questions like these....

Luke 24:1-11 Does the Bible denigrate women? Here are a few verses you might find offensive. “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as male servants do” (Exodus 21:7). Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says (1 Corinthians 14:34). I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a ma...

Hebrews 1:1-3 Beware of Bible verses taken out of context. For example, in Genesis 1:29 God says to humans, “I give you every green plant for food.” Does this mean Christians who eat meat are disobeying God? Here’s another. In Leviticus 25:44 God tells Moses to instruct the Israelites, “You may buy slaves.” How can God allow something as evil as slavery? Anything pulled out of context can sound ab...

The Bible can be hazardous to your faith! Some people find it easy to believe in God – until they read the Bible. That’s when they find all kinds of horrific stuff. How could God . . . allow slavery? tell women to keep quiet? forbid eating shrimp? create light and daytime before creating the sun? kill all firstborn Egyptians? During this series we won’t back away from hard questions like these. An...

Jonah 2:1-10, NLT Join us this Sunday as we explore the famous story of Jonah. We’ll examine the role of problems in our lives and the helpful (and unhelpful) ways we respond. We’ll talk about what it means to follow Jesus when we’re in the middle of big challenges. We’ll learn some important lessons Jonah learned sitting in the belly of that whale.

2 Kings 10:15-16 Every congregation has its own culture. Each one has its own form of government, style of worship, and unique beliefs. What’s our attitude toward those that aren’t like us? We could say our differences don’t matter, but sometimes they do matter. What matters more is the way we love one another, possessing what John Wesley called a catholic spirit. If we were to have a catholic spi...

Ephesians 2:1-10 One part of salvation is being forgiven. What an amazing gift of grace! Our sins are pardoned, and our guilt is removed. And we receive this gift through faith in Jesus. Another part of salvation is being transformed and living a holy life. Does this happen by our efforts? By trying harder? Or does it come through faith? The answer strikes at the heart of the Methodist movement.

Matthew 10:5-8, 40-42 This Sunday instead of giving a message, Pastor Steve will interview several students about their summer mission trip to Loveland, Colorado. Hear their stories and see their pictures. Let’s support our students!

John 3:1-8 Jesus said it, “You must be born again” – which raises all kinds of questions. What did he mean? Do I need to have a dramatic experience? Or not? What happens when a person receives this rebirth from the Spirit? Sure, being “born again” a metaphor, but what’s the reality behind the metaphor? This Sunday Pastor Steve will share with us John Wesley’s biblical answers to questions like the...

1 Peter 4:1-5, 12-19 Elite athletes punish their bodies. They lift heavy weights. They push the limits of their cardio capacity. They endure all this suffering, so that when the real competition begins, they’re prepared. Peter says this is what happens when we endure suffering for Jesus. It prepares us. Then when temptation strikes – and it will – we’re ready to suffer rather than sin.

1 Peter 5:1-7 What do leaders look like in Jesus’s family? They’re under-shepherds of the head shepherd. They care for others and serve willingly, without trying to elevate their own status. They’d rather be an example for people than their boss. They’re not looking for their own reward. But when Jesus returns, their humility will be honored.

Monumental Sunday is a full worship service with music, prayer, and a special message titled Surprise! from Director of Children's Ministry Leah Dinoso. The Petes will be there to recap our adventures at VBS and share the Bible points, the music, and the important lessons our kids learned throughout the week too.

1 Peter 5:8-14 There is an invisible war that is not between forces we can see but on the unseen war between the devil and God for our souls. We need to remember that we fight from victory and not for victory. The war has already been won by Jesus Christ with his victory over sin and death.

1 Peter 3:8-18 We’ve already learned that Jesus’s people are to avoid retaliation. Now Peter tells us to respond opposite of those who oppose us. When you receive insult, reply with blessing. When you’re treated hurtfully, respond helpfully. And even if it doesn’t change your situation, at least you’ll have a clear conscience.

1 Peter 3:1-7 What if you belong to Jesus but your spouse does not? How can you draw them toward the Lord? Peter says it’s not by trying to look like a model in a magazine. He says it’s simply by showing them respect and serving them with kindness. And maybe, just maybe, they will be “won over without words.”

1 Peter 2:11-25 The world practices retaliation: eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. But Jesus modeled a remarkably different way. He had the power to punish his persecutors, but he left it to God’s final judgment. And one of the most radical ways we can follow in Jesus’s steps is by forsaking retaliation and leaving justice to God.