Westside Gathering - Audio

It’s Palm Sunday, and with the Cross in our periphery we dig into the story of Abraham and allow it to project into Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem. (Guest speaker: Jonathan Hodges) Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20210328_JonathanH.pdf

Jesus challenges our view of greatness by pointing us to servanthood. Mark 9:30-37, 10:45 Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20210321_DaveM.pdf

Have you ever found out that the path you've chosen or the person you've trusted required more from you than you initially thought?! In the same way, a cross-shaped life might require more from us than we initially think! (Mark 8:31-9:1) Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20210314_DaveM.pdf

Is the cross more than the way Jesus won? Is it possible it's also a way of life? We start a series today looking at some key moments in the life of Jesus where he points to the way of the cross in his own life and to decisions in contrast to the way of the world. We start in His baptism and desert temptations. (Matthew 3:13-4:11) Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/th...

Being the church in a pandemic. (Hebrews 10:19-36) Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20210228_DaveM.pdf

People look to many options to fill their hearts and better their future. Today Patrice teaches out of a well-known scripture to help us discover God's promise for life today and tomorrow, regardless of what we're going through. (John 3:16) Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20210221_PatriceN.pdf

We wrap up our wilderness series with two things we all long for: identity and vocation. God can speak into them as they guide us through our whole lives (even beyond the wilderness). Today we discover how this can bring both joy and tension. (Exodus 19) Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20210214_DaveM.pdf

Can God reveal something new to you in a wilderness-like season? Is He or his wisdom hidden or might they show up in surprising ways? In this snapshot Israel gets another family guest during their wilderness journey and has some surprising revelations that grow Israel's ability to be a better community. (Exodus 18) Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegatheri...

The desert can be a dangerous place. Wilderness-like seasons can also include attacks. Today we learn from a snapshot in Exodus about an attack the Isrealites face in the desert and the lessons for our own seasons of life. (Exodus 17:8-16) Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20210131_DaveM.pdf

In this snapshot of Israel's wilderness experience we see God testing Israel's trust in following his way. While God provides for their needs, this early lesson teaches us something about contentment and sabbath that applies to our modern life more than we realize. (Exodus 15-16) Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20210124_DaveM.pdf

Wilderness is a theme that runs through the Bible a lot. God uses wilderness surroundings or seasons to get our attention, to get us through something, or to teach us more about ourselves and ultimately about Him. We start this new series at the beginning of Israel’s rescue from slavery in Egypt and how their struggle to trust God can parallel our own lives. (Exodus 13-15) Our message notes can be...

We're often verbally committed to a new year, maybe even a new me, but the way forward is more than just a next step. It often involves examining the steps you've already been taking. Psalm 139 helps us move toward a flourishing life in Jesus by letting God examine the path we're already on. Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg202101...

Have you ever rejected something you needed for something you wanted instead? Advent confronts us with a question about rejecting or receiving Jesus, the Word. John 1:1-13 Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20201220_DaveM.pdf

John proclaims that “the true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world” (John 1:9, NRSV).  Through John’s testimony – read against the broader witness of scripture – we learn something about what God is doing in the world, who God reveals himself to be, and what it means to be his children. Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/po...

John 1:1-4 Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20201206_DaveM.pdf

We should all read the Bible for ourselves... but how? Building on the foundation of the whole series we end the Practice of Scripture with “The Bible Diet” (a Canadian-like food group guide to bible reading). Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20201129_DaveM.pdf

Were the scriptures meant to be read alone or in community? Today we look at how the Church and Christians over the centuries have never read the Bible as an island but part of a the large beautiful work of the gospel since inception. Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20201122_DaveM.pdf

Why are some texts interpreted literally and some generally? At some point when one reads scripture the movement from discovery to discernment must take place. David looks at various levels of context so we can discern different parts of the Bible well. Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20201115_DaveM.pdf

Was scripture always scripture? When did these words get said or written? To help us to allow scripture to impact us with the its message we take a deep dive in understanding where it came from. (Acts 6:1-7) Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20201108_DaveM.pdf

We often hear it said that the Bible has divine power or authority. Whose authority? How do you respond to that? We explore a core idea of what the Scripture is and isn’t so we can read it and make room for it to do its work in us (2 Tim. 3:10-17). Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20201101_DaveM.pdf

Regardless if you’ve read the Bible a lot or just starting to, many people can get stuck wondering if they’re doing it right or missing something along the way. Some of us just want to get the most out of it because we want to grow in following Jesus. Today we kick off a new series helping to see the Bible for what it is and reading it in a way that forms us in the way of Jesus. This intro message...

Have you ever experienced the emotion of shame? Do you struggle to share the gospel with people in your life? Derek shares what it looks like to be actively unashamed of the gospel. (Romans 1:8-17). Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20201018_DerekK.pdf

Christians can mistakenly take a cue from culture that as long as we find a good source of strength, we’ll be strong enough to go it alone. Even Jesus envisioned us leaning on him in community. (Eph. 4:1-16) Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20201004_DaveM.pdf

… we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20200927_DaveM.pdf

So many look for strength strictly in themselves while there’s a human longing for meaning beyond ourselves. We explore the calling of the gospel to follow Jesus as our core source of strength. (Eph. 4:1-6) Our message notes can be found here http://www.gatheringcafe.com/thewestsidegathering/podcasts/WSGmsg20200920_DaveM.pdf