Central West End Church

What is the good life? Where do we see it, and how can we really live it? In this passage, the apostle John says it all comes down to getting our vision. How are we seeing reality?

Blurb: Our culture says real spirituality is not intellectual, it's experiential. Christianity says that's a false dichotomy. This passage shows us that knowing Jesus is something that happens with our whole being and transforms our whole being.

In this troubled world we need both encouragement and guidance. The Apostle John strengthens us as he reminds us of the Lord's work in our lives. He also warns us of the danger that comes when we set our hearts on the systems of this world that are disordered and destructive. He invites us to live differently, as dearly loved children, in light of what will truly last.

In a world full of upheaval, we need something to anchor us. The apostle John wrote three letters to the early church to help them find the anchor they needed in Jesus. And these letters can help us, too.

We're experiencing a crisis of hope in our culture. The Bible is not the only story that offers some kind of hope. But the hope it offers is unique from every other story.

Church doesn't feel like an option for many people. And yet, none of the spiritual options our culture offers us are capable of satisfying our spiritual longings. What do we do with that? This passage helps us.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ isn't just a metaphor. It's a historical reality that can change your life and the world. How? This amazing passage shows us.

In the first garden Adam and Eve by their actions said to God, in effect, Not what You will but what we will and brought upon all humanity a reign of sin and death. In Gethsemane, the second garden, Jesus prays Not what I will but what You will, reversing the pattern of rebellion and setting in motion a sequence of events to defeat death itself!

Whatever story you believe about the world shapes the way you live in the world. Jesus' death on the cross gives us a new story to shape our lives in this world.

Even though we live in a morally relativistic culture, the problem of evil is still a problem. What do we do with that? Does God have a solution? The wilderness temptation of Jesus shows us.

There's something about life in this world that always leaves us wanting more, but we feel cut off from it. Why is that, and what do we do with it? The big story of the Bible explains why we feel cut off and what God does about it.

We can find life and hope under the reign of the one true King.

God led Israel in the wilderness for 40 years. Why? Because the wilderness is a place of suffering. And suffering is one of the main ways, if not the main way, you meet God.

It's easy to think of God's law as an arbitrary set of rules we must obey to get God to love us. But this passage shows us it's actually a picture of what it looks like to live inside the story of what God is already doing in our lives and the world.

Whatever story you believe about the world shapes your life in the world. The Bible gives us a story that sets us free and transforms us. The Exodus story shows us how.

Salvation is a culturally loaded term, but it's simply another way of talking about transformation. And often we don't just long for transformation, we groan for it. This passage helps us understand both our groaning and our longing.

The Bible is God's autobiography. What God says and does in the story reveals His nature and character. Christians worship God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—all in one. Knowing the Bible's whole story is the best way to worship God in spirit and in truth.

Exile and homecoming is one of the main themes in the Bible. With all the progress we've made in the world, why are we still so unhappy? And is there any remedy? This passage shows us.

In modern, Western culture, not only do we have a distorted picture of God, we have a distorted picture of sin. This passage helps us understand why, and points us toward the path of healing and freedom.

We all wrestle with identity questions: Who am I? Does my life matter? The Bible gives us a story that gets to the heart of those questions in a way that no other story does.

We all feel like our lives are part of a story. That's exactly what the Bible offers us: a big story to live in. Every story has a setting. What kind of world are we in? This passage shows us.

In our world, you can have joy, or you can have suffering. What you can't have is both. But this passage shows us that suffering can actually be one of the most powerful ways the joy of Christ comes alive in you.

Every human needs to be safe, seen, soothed, and secure. Instead, most of us feel the pressure to perform for the love we need. Jesus offers us the ultimate experience of being safe, seen, soothed, and secure, because Jesus offers us true peace.

Hopelessness is almost like an epidemic today. Where do we find the hope we need? This passage shows us where to find a living hope.

You can be looking right at something, but without the right frame, it makes no sense. The kingdom of God can be like that. At the end of the book of Acts, the apostle Paul gives us a frame to make sense of the kingdom.

Suffering creates a crisis of confidence in God. But when we see how Paul navigates this storm, it shows us how God is with us in our storms.

Politics matters, because politics is powerful. But because it's so powerful, it's crucial to understand how the gospel relates to politics and what that means for Christians. This passage shows us.

We all long for a place to belong and a purpose in life. In Acts 20, we see God's people joined together in his mission. The church as a fellowship of God's people on mission is called to walk together, to walk through tears and trials, and to testify to the wonderful hope we have because of God's grace.

We are creatures of desire, but our desires always seem heartbreakingly beyond our reach. What do we do with that? In this passage, Paul shows us how the gospel affirms, critiques, and ultimately fulfills our deepest desires.

How should we live when the Powers-That-Be insist that we accept realities and rules that violate our faith? Not an easy question. There are several options. This passage and sermon reveal the one perfect answer.

These days it can be suspect and even unpopular to talk to other people about Jesus. Read the book of Acts, chapter 18, and listen to this sermon to understand why “sharing the Gospel” is basic to being a Christian and a blessing to the whole world.

We all learn ways of getting through life that work for us, but they still feel upside down. The gospel shows us what right side up looks like.

God is present in our culture as a concept, but not as an inescapable, living reality. And yet, our spiritual hunger and desire for rescue never goes away. What do we do with that?

Even though our culture is deeply influenced by Christianity, many people have a distorted or false picture of Christianity. It doesn't make any sense to them. How do you make sense of Christianity to people for whom Christianity doesn't make any sense? This passage helps us.

It's often hard to recognize God's work in our lives and in the world, because it doesn't look like what we think it should look like. How can we take care not to miss what God is doing? In this passage, the apostle Paul shows us it's all wrapped up in understanding the story we're in.

Evangelism is a controversial and fearful topic for many people, and for many reasons. But the word has its roots in the idea of "good news," specifically the good news about Jesus. This passage helps us recover a healthier and happier understanding of this much misunderstood word.

God's vision for the world has always been a multiethnic, multicultural vision. This story is one of the most powerful examples of that. In this passage, Peter recounts how he was led to a summit experience in the expansion of the gospel to all the world.

This famous passage is not just a story about one man and how he met the risen Jesus. It's also a powerful lesson about what it means to be the church.

What if the gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing that can really affirm and honor all the different cultures of the world because it's the only thing that can truly fulfill our deepest spiritual longings? This passage shows us how.

The quest for meaning and control is at the heart of our lives. This story about a magician looking for the same things has a lot to show us about this quest and its ultimate fulfillment.

We live in a world full of hatred, division, and polarization. What does it mean to be the church in this, and what if the church could be a source of joy in the midst of the division? This passage shows us how.

One of the biggest threats to the church in America isn't external: the loss of power. It's internal: our inability to give power away. The book of Acts, and especially this passage, helps by showing us what it means to be the church.

Whether it's the ancient Roman Empire, or the year 2024 in the modern West, following Jesus requires courage. If you struggle with fear, and wonder where you can get the courage to follow Jesus, this passage is a goldmine.

Wouldn't it be great if the Church could be totally transformed? If it could, how would that be possible. Historically, when the Church experiences radical transformation it is called Revival. Join us as we continue our series in the book of Acts and we look at the account of the very first revival.

Many people say no one should ever claim to have the one, true religion. But what if the gospel is not only not the oppressive threat many people think it is? What if, instead, it's actually the only thing that can really create a world of true justice and peace?

The presence of evil and suffering in this world is still one of the most powerful arguments against faith in an all-loving, all-powerful creator. We want to make sense of it. Even more, we want to find freedom from it. Is that possible? And if so, how?

What if the only solution for the oppression, abuse, and injustices of the church isn't the removal of the church, but the renewal of the church? One of the best ways to get a vision for the future of the church is to get a clearer picture of the very first church. This passage helps us do that.

This passage contains the first explicit proclamation of the gospel of Jesus. So if we want to understand what the gospel really means, there is no better place to look.

In our culture, spirituality is hot. Church is not. But what if real spirituality is impossible to experience apart from Jesus and the church he called into being? This passage helps us by showing us what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit.