Woodland Hills Church

Jesus taught that the way to salvation is narrow, but what exactly does that mean? Who gets saved? How does someone get saved? These are big questions, and the answers will surprise many people – even some who have attended church their entire lives. Discover what Jesus meant when he called us to enter the “narrow door.”

Jesus described God’s Kingdom like a mustard seed and like yeast. What did he mean? And what do Jesus’ unusual parables have to do with our lives today? When we consider how his original audience would have heard Jesus’ words, it helps us discover just how challenging his teachings are for us today.

Jesus called a crippled woman forward despite the many forces working against her. She answered the call by stepping into the powerful healing of God, and immediately she stood up and praised God. We can see this as an analogy for responding to the call of God in today’s hurting world and the powerful forces that we come up against.

Religion or relationship? We need to be careful about which term best describes how we engage our faith. Through his actions and teaching, Jesus shows us clear distinctions between viewing Kingdom life as a religion or as a personal relationship.

Our passage this week shows Jesus healing a crippled woman. Jesus and his disciples regularly healed the sick and the lame and cast out demons by taking authority over the situation “in Jesus' name.” This challenges us to consider the power and authority our own words and actions have in our daily lives.

We are called to live as daredevils, but most of us are bound by fears of some kind. God didn’t make us to be timid people who are dependent on worldly things; we are meant to be free from fear and complete in love. He wants to set us free so that we have the confidence to be daredevils.

Forgiveness is always easier to talk about than to actually do. But without it we are alone and isolated, and can be consumed by hurt. Jesus taught about how we should forgive each other through parables: because we experience God’s great forgiveness, we share the same with others who have wronged us. And as a result, we learn how to live our lives with each other and experience the freedom that G...

Jesus often taught about the love of God, but in this passage he also says “...unless you repent, you will all perish.” This is a very unpopular passage as it is commonly understood, as most people assume Jesus is using the fear of hell to scare us into repentance. The truth is that sin really does lead to perishing, but it’s not because of God’s arbitrary wrath.

Tragedies happen. This world is far from God’s ideal, and we must be ready to respond in God’s way when we find ourselves in difficult situations. Jesus shows us some clear ways to think and act so that we don’t fall into traps of judgment or guilt when life doesn’t work out the way we want. We also must remember that even though God doesn’t cause painful situations, he can always bring good out o...

Many people blame God for the terrible things that happen in our world: the death of a loved one, illnesses, natural disasters, even acts of terror. Some claim that these are ways that God judges and punishes us. But Jesus gives us a very different picture of God. Jesus reveals that despite the evil in our world, God is always on our side, wants what is best for us, and loves us beyond measure.

God is a FIRE. To all who are open to him, God’s presence is a fire of love, salvation, healing and purification. To all who are not, God’s presence is experienced as a fire of destruction. Jesus reminds and warns us to build our lives on him; depending upon where our hearts are, God’s fiery and holy love either saves and purifies us, or it destroys.

Many well-meaning Christians speculate about the end of the world and the return of Jesus. The problem is that most of these perspectives vary greatly and can cause a lot of fear and stress. But when we hear Jesus’ teaching about the end of the world, he focuses us in a direction that is quite different than many of today’s popular ideas.

So many of us have a messed up view of God. We don’t understand how our Father in heaven loves us beyond imagination. Because we lack a clear picture of God’s love, we cling to this world and all of its concerns. Our lives can get consumed by worry. But when we see the reality of God’s love, this world's problems are small by comparison.

As a society, we’re extremely worried. Concern about countless issues pervades our lives: our relationships, our kids, terror attacks, global warming, pandemics, the economy, living the American Dream – if we’re not careful, this worry can consume us. Jesus provides us with the Kingdom alternative to worrying, and it’s surprisingly related to birds and flowers.

Many times the modern American church views God as a judge or lawyer and the main goal of the church is to enforce certain rules. While God is the ultimate judge, he is also madly in love with humanity and wants to see everyone restored. If we look at how God has been extravagantly rich towards us, we begin to see what it means for us to be rich towards God and others.

Is God's presence merely something we expect to experience once a week during a church service? Or maybe even once a day during a time of prayer? The truth is that God's presence pervades our life, but we are usually to distracted to notice. We are invited to experience God's presence on a moment by moment basis in our daily lives.

No one wants to be told how to spend their money, but Jesus was not silent on the subject. He warned against greed and storing up treasures for ourselves while calling us to care for the poor and those who are less fortunate. His words may cause us discomfort, but they confront a very strong individualistic mindset that is just as prevalent in the church today as it is in secular culture.

What does it mean to “get saved?” Many people (especially people in the United States) see salvation as a one time event and the result of “believing” certain things about God. While belief is important, salvation encompasses much more than that. The salvation that God offers is a continual personal transformation where the trash of our old lives is replaced by the beauty of God's Kingdom.

Some of Jesus' words were very challenging to the people of his time, and for us. One of the traits that he gave strong warnings about was hypocrisy – when our “public” lives don't match who we really are. Keeping these parts of our lives aligned is a major challenge and it almost always requires sacrifice. We don't like to move outside our comfort zones, but it's what is requi...

Leaders are crucial to what God is doing to spread his Kingdom. While there are many good church leaders who serve from healthy perspectives, there are far too many who have caused pain by abusing those in their communities. Jesus boldly challenged such religious leaders in his time, and what he said gives us a biblical understanding of leadership and how it should operate in the church.

How does true spiritual change occur? Sometimes we focus on the outside and try to change ourselves through what we do. But we don’t become clean by paying attention to external “religious” behaviors. In this sermon we’re challenged with the example of generosity to the poor and learn that becoming clean is an “inside-out” process, where we allow the Spirit of God to transform us on the inside so...

Jesus came to set us free so that we can shine with his love. But sometimes darkness in our own heart gets in the way of the life he wants for us. Many times our own thoughts, beliefs and feelings are at the root of why we don’t live as Kingdom people. A key to addressing this darkness is to realize that our perceptions are not what’s real, and instead align our thoughts and feelings with God’s tr...

Jesus didn’t water down his message for the crowds or give them just what they wanted to hear. Jesus called them (and us) to repent – to face reality and turn from living in lies that hinder our ability to participate in what God is doing in the world. God’s Kingdom happens in our lives and in our communities when we repent and line our lives up with God’s way of looking at the world and God’s way...

In our culture celebrity worship is rampant. Because of their money, talent, and the attention they receive, many of us live through pop icons. Sadly, this same mentality creeps into the church. We can be tempted to elevate church leaders above everyone else and think that the Kingdom happens through them alone. Their prayers count more. Their words are more powerful. Their service is more signifi...

Time is ticking away. Being alive in this world means that we are moving toward death, and to some degree that makes most of us afraid. That fear can drive us to many different sources of worldly security, but the good news (the Easter news!) is that no one needs to live in fear.