Real Good Courage - The Westwood Podcast

Teach Us To Pray: The Lord’s Prayer for Our Times

Are our prayers always answered? Jesus taught his followers the Lord’s Prayer, and told them to be persistent in prayer. As we begin a summer series on the Lord’s Prayer, the sermon addressed the closeness of God our father, the other-ness of God in heaven, and what it means for our prayers to be “answered.”

This weeks message comes from Pastor Sarah. Our Gospel is from Luke Chapter 11, verses 1 - 10. 

Through Faith: All Are Children of God

What does a congregation look like that’s faithful to Paul’s claim in Gal. 3?

that our “oneness” is found by faith in Christ, not our sameness as we can so often see.  This week two members of Westwood will share their reflections on this question through the lens of their faith journey as members of the LGBT community.

This message is brought to us by Pastor Jason. Our scripture is from Galatians Chapter 3 verses 23-29,

Do You Want to Get Free?

God's promise of freedom and liberation throughout history has been for the oppressed and the captives. Explore how we define freedom as individuals and as a country and how Jesus spoke about and lived it out. 

This message is brought to us by Pastoral Intern Aaron, and our gospel is from Luke Chapter 4, verses 14-21, and the Lesson is Isaiah 61 which Jesus refers to in the Gospel. 

Spirit of Hopes and Dreams

How does the presence of the Holy Spirit in the birth of Christianity relate to us today? Hope is at the root of the message. That we should live in hope is what the Spirit brought to those in that closed room long ago, and to us today.  

Pastor Jason brings us today's message. The Gospel lesson comes from John, Chapter 14.

Your Children Are Not Your Children

Trust. We don’t do anything alone. Trust is at the heart of relationship. God trusted Jesus with the disciples. Jesus trusted the disciples with his mission after he ascended. 

Parents need trust when they hand their children to others for care and education. And we are all responsible for the well-being of all God’s children, not just our own. “Child Well-being” is one of Westwood's five core values.  This message addresses the importance of creating trustworthy environments that enable all people to thrive.

Our scripture reading is from Isaiah Chapter 40, verses 28-31, and the Gospel lesson is from John 17, verses 6-9.

 

Moving from Trouble to Hope

How do we move from Troubles to passionate patience to character and how does this result in hope? Where and how does the Holy Spirit flow generously into our lives?

Today's message is brought to us by Pastoral Intern Aaron, and our scripture is from Romans Chapter 5, verses 1-5 and our Gospel lesson is from John Chapter 14, verses 23-29.

 

Hope: Energizing to Meet the Moment

In this message we wonder about the effect of hope in God’s promises has in the present.

This message is brought to us by Pastor Jason. Our scripture reading comes from Lamentations Chapter 3, verses 21-24. Th e Gospel reading is from the book of John, Chapter 21, verses 9-17.

Doing Hopeful Things

“I know the plans I have for you…to give you a future with hope.” That’s a popular Bible passage, giving hope to people who are in a hard times, but it’s only half of the story. Before God gives this promise, God says to settle down and make homes and families there – in this case, in a foreign country as refugees. Our faithful actions now – even if they seem small and insignificant – are part of ushering in God’s promise of a future with hope.

This message is presented by Pastor Sarah.The Scripture lesson comes from Jeremiah Chapter 29, and our Gospel is from John, Chapter 21.