Real Good Courage - The Westwood Podcast

There’s a dominant worldview that says you have to look out for yourself. Numero uno. I did it my way. But the “foolish” way of Christ reveals a different way to live. When we look out for others, we can also trust that others will look out for us. Generosity creates community. Pastor Sarah brings us this message. Our Scripture comes from First Corinthians, verses 18, 26-31. The video referred to...

This week, Pastor Jason explores the definition of generosity and how we approach the call to generosity with all that God has given us. How do we orient our lives if Paul's statement that "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. As our core confession, how dow we connect this concept to our theological claims of Grace and Vocation? Our reading is from the Book of Gallatians, Chapt...

Have you ever been in a pay-it-forward drive thru line? That’s when the person in front pays for you, and then you pay for the person behind you. As those experiences demonstrate, generosity is connected to what happens before you, and what comes next.   Past. Present. Future. We are always embedded in a story of generosity: God’s generosity to us (often through other people!), and our generosity...

In the past years, Westwood’s Grace and Vocation focus has spent significant time connecting our roles (family, friend, citizen, work/school/retirement) with our faith. We explore what it means to be God's hands an feet in the world, using our time, talents and financial resources.  This week's message comes from Pastor Jason, and he talks with two Westwood members to help us reflect on the vocati...

Fear. It’s experienced by every person, a natural part of being human. Does that mean Jesus could have felt it too? In this message Pastor Sarah imagines what it would mean if Jesus was afraid, and discovers a graciousness and honesty about her own fear. Fear, it turns out, isn’t the opposite of faith. Fear tills the soil where faith can take root and grow, and our fear is no match for God's love....

In these uncertain times, where it’s easy to lose hope by just looking at my newsfeed, our faith invites us to turn both to God and our neighbor (think Jimmy Carter as one example in the news this week). This week's message is brought to us by Pastor Tania. The Gospel is from Luke, Chapter 3, Verses 15-15 and 21-22. 

The early months of the year are some of the hardest. Dark and cold, without excitement of the holidays, it can be deflating to discover the same old life awaits. But Christmas changes us. God’s birth into this world means that even if we return to life as normal, we are changed. In this sermon, the shepherds serve as an example for all of us. After seeing the baby Jesus in the manger, they praise...

What are your New Year's resolutions? With the societal ritual of New Year’s resolutions upon us, Jason invites us to wonder what a New Year’s Resolution list might look like based on Colossians 3.   

Was your Christmas imperfect? Welcome to the club. It can be easy to idealize the perfect Christmas, and then judge yourself accordingly. Here's a little secret: the first Christmas wasn't as ideal as the manger scenes make it out to be. The point of Christmas is that God became real flesh in a real world - a world that was full of the kinds of troubles you are dealing with too. God loved that wor...

Our message today comes from Pastor Tania, who explores what the Prince of Peace brings to us in this holiday season. 

In the “attention economy,” many voices compete for your attention. It can be hard to prioritize. In Handel’s Messiah, the word “Behold” appears multiple times. As our almighty leader, God is drawing your attention to the peace, hope, and love that are always here, even in difficult times. How do you pay attention to God? And how can you give someone your attention who needs it today? Today's mess...

During Advent, our music and worship team are performing Handel's Messiah in lieu of scripture readings. The performance includes the following pieces, and their scriptural basis. THE WORD IN SONG “Messiah” George Frideric Handel Overture Scene One: God’s Comforting Promise Recitative: Comfort, Ye My People (Isaiah 40:1-3) Aria: Every Valley Shall Be Exalted (Isaiah 40:4) Chorus: And the Glory of...

“Some may describe familiar works of music as “comfort food”… meaning a piece of music that invites an escape from the joys a challenges of the real world.  The background of Handel’s Messiah and the use of scripture both suggest that this work of music functions not to turn away from the world, but as a call to turn towards to world with hope.” This message is brought to us by Pastor Jason. 

Baptism isn't a one time event; it's a life long journey. Every part of our lives is an opportunity to live out our faith. This includes our economic lives. Martin Luther said there were three conversions: the heart, heart, and wallet. This sermon talks about how "conversion of the wallet" helps us live deeply into the life promised at baptism, a life of love, community, and meaning.   Pastor Sara...

In his commentary, Biblical Scholar Don Juel says the following.  “The disciples speak for reasonable people.  They do not expect anything from Jesus.”  In this sermon we wonder in our own time about our definitions of “reasonableness” and how a definition that includes faith in Jesus has an affect on how we think about generosity. This message comes from Pastor Jason. The Gospel Lesson is Mark Ch...

When you are in a boat far from land, high winds and rough seas can cause worry. Following the national elextion, the seas in which the United States sails seem uncertain too. Pastor Sarah provides modern day context from the nautial world, and applies these lessons to help us identify why we can remain calm, and exactly what our boat actually is.  The Gospel lesson today is from Mark Chapter 4 Ve...

All Saints Sunday is a day when we give thanks for people who have gone before. We remember not only that there are those who have died in our lifetimes, but there is also a great cloud of witnesses above, and that we too will be in their ranks soon. We draw on the powerful image of dancing saints to depict the community that those of us still living have with those who have died. This message com...

This message is brought to us by Pastor Jason. The Lesson comes from Romans Chapter 3, Verses 21-24 and the Gospel is from John Chapter 8, Verses 31-36

This message is brought to us by Pastor Tania. The Gospel is Hebrew Chapter 12, verses 1-2.

This message is brought to us by Pastor Jason. The New Testament lesson is from Romans 12:verses 3-8, and the Old Testament Lesson is from Exodus Chapter 18, verses 13-23.

Pastor Sarah brings us this message. The Gospel lesson is from John 14, verses 27, 30-31.

Joseph is the Old Testament character (and leader) of the week…someone whose life included being thrown into a pit, being sold into slavery, being thrown into jail for a misunderstanding…and yet out of his life experiences and his pain/betrayal/hurt, God stayed with him and used him for good.  Out of your “pits” and pain, God still sees incredible potential in you, and chooses you and uses you to...

In today’s sermon we further describe our understanding of leadership as a result of God’s gracious activity in Christ.  The story of Jacob and Esau’s reconciliation is the launching pad for wondering what leadership defined by humble courage might look like. This message is presented by Pastor Jason. Our Scripture comes from the book of Genesis, 32:22 - 33:4

Here are some myths about leadership: 1) Leaders took a direct path 2) Leaders are perfect 3) Leadership is limited to only a few spaces and places 4) Other people are leaders, but not you. The story of God calling Moses busts these myths and shows us that the grace of God calls all people to lead where they are and from who they are.  Pastor Sarah brings us this message. The scripture reading is...

Leadership is a term that has lots of definitions.  In today’s sermon, we seek to define what that means based on the words of Jesus in his farewell discourse in the Gospel of John. Pastor Jason presents this message. The Gospel comes from John Chapter 15.