Episodes
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How familiar are you with the phrase âdo as I say, not as I do?â Almost all of us have heard that said at least once, right?! Now how do you think you do with saying one thing but living another way? Think about how you present yourself to others and how you really live.Many people are critical of Christians, and for good reason. Christian hypocrisy is responsible for countless hurts to masses of people throughout history and even now. How can we claim to love others when so many who represent Jesus use the Bible or their faith to inflict pain? In week two of our series exploring and answering questions our kids are asking, pastor Megan Marshman addresses questions about hypocrisy in the Bible and the church. We walk through Matthew 23:1-7 and Romans 3:21-24 to see what the Bible says about the danger of hypocrisy and how we all need Jesus to help us.
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Welcome to our new series, which seeks to shed light on and answer the hard questions kids and young people are asking about Christianity. We start with a question that is seen as divisive but shouldnât be: What role do Christians play in justice, specifically in pursuing racial justice and racial equality?
Some people donât feel this is an area Christians should be concerned about. But God created everyone and loves us all, so we should reflect Him and love everyone, too. In our love, we want everyone to enjoy equality at all levels, even if it means sacrificing something ourselves.
We are living in the post-George Floyd, post-Covid Asian racist attacks era. Racial justice concerns all of Godâs children, beginning with the cultural mandate in Genesis 1 (26-28), where God commands humankind to care for the earth and all that is in it.
Pastors Dave and Thomas demonstrate Godâs heart for justice, how the early church promoted and lived into this life of justice, and how we, as followers of Jesus, can engage in justice now.
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Episodes manquant?
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Have you ever considered your spiritual gifts? Are you wondering what spiritual gifts even are?! God has given each person unique skills and talents, including you! But why has God given everyone spiritual gifts? So that you, and each person in the church, can contribute in unique and awesome ways to live out the missionâthe purposeâof Godâs Kingdom on earth.Pastor Dave explains why volunteering in church community, also known as serving, is so important to Godâs plan for your life, and how you make a real difference in the world. Learn about how you can discover and use your own spiritual gifts to play your part in the church, your community, and the world!
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This week, weâre asking: What good is knowing the Good News if weâre not sharing it? Weâre often hesitant to share our faith with others because it seems too hard or too tricky to navigate, or we worry about how we will be perceived. Pastor Dave shows us how we can practically begin sharing faith with those around us through the B.L.E.S.S. model; an easy-to-follow way to live out the âgreat commissionâ, sharing the Good News, and relieving our fears around sharing faith.
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New to Willow? Go here to find out more about our church and to see more great teaching: https://www.willowcreek.org/visit/Do you want to discover new joy, set aside shame and guilt, and live relaxed in the midst of stress, mistakes, and fatigue? Sounds pretty good, right?!In the final week of our Summer Book Club series, we hear from our very own teaching pastor, Megan Marshman, who shares brilliant insights from her new book, Relaxed: Walking with the One Who Is Not Worried about a Thing.
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New to Willow? Go here to find out more about our church and to see more great teaching: https://www.willowcreek.org/visit/ Weâre so excited to welcome best-selling author, transformational speaker and leadership coach, Ryan Leak!In our Summer Book Club series this week, Ryan teaches from his new book, How to Work with Complicated People. His book provides strategies for effectively collaborating with nearly anyone - and who couldnât use that?! Let us know what you learn in the comments below!
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Itâs the first of our three-week Summer Book Club series, and we start off with author, preacher and Director of Theology and Research for Proverbs 31, Joel Muddamalle!Weâre excited that Joel is with us to teach from his new book, The Hidden Peace: Finding True Security, Strength, and Confidence through Humility. We hear how Biblical humility can help you overcome insecurities and grow in self-awareness to step into all the wonderful things God has for you!
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Oh boy. Here we go. Itâs the book of Revelation (strap in for a wild ride)!A dragon, a white horse, a beast or two, trumpets, a woman clothed in the sunâwhat is going on? Read the book of Revelation and without any context or understanding, it may seem like it was torn from an epic science fiction novel. Typically this leads to two approaches: 1) those who think of it as a blueprint for the future, (yikes!) or 2) those who simply wonât read it because it seems like too much to try to understand (relatable).However, with context and an acceptance that the book of Revelationâs entirety cannot be fully explained, we can begin to see just how hopeful, necessary, and thrilling this book actually is! Pastor Megan Marshman takes us through it!
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Have you ever overheard a conversation only to realize it was about something completely different? Context is keyâin life and in reading the New Testament Letters! There are a lot of apparent contradictions throughout the Letters, some people point to this as a reason to disprove the Bible. But understanding the context and realizing the purpose of each letter, for the people it was written for at that moment in time helps clue us into the differences.
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What are the Gospels? They are books of the Bible that provide historical narratives documenting the life and work of Jesus and the creation of the early church. It is in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts that we see God come to earth as a human, in Jesus. They also show how, as Christians, we are to live and love others as one of Godâs children.
Last week we learned about the prophecy books of the Bible. This week we see how Jesus came to fulfill those prophecies! -
The prophets in the Bible did some pretty strange things to grab the attention of Godâs people and bring them back to Him. Understanding the prophetic books can be tricky if you donât know the historical setting, so letâs use them as a framework for cultivating a relationship with Jesus, not simply religious adherence.
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The Bible lays out fantastic principles for living, but even following them all doesnât promise a life free from pain. Weâll explore the Wisdom literature to discover how we can seek wisdom, follow it, and find principles for life anchored in Christ.
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Did you ever do something you knew you werenât supposed to? Like, rebel against your boss, your parents, God? How did your boss or your parents respond? Probably not great.This week Pastor Megan Marshman covers the History books of the Bible: and, more closely, the book of Ruth. Ruthâs story in the Bible is set during a very dark moment in the history of Israel, where Godâs people were rebelling against Him, doing what they thought was right by them. But what Ruthâs story shows us is that Godâs plan will prevail. Humans canât derail the progress of Godâs grand design; as much as we might try!If youâre looking for biblical hope, the book of Ruth offers just that.
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So, the Bible is a little longâŠand overwhelming. And hard to understand a lot of the time. Ever thought: TL;DR? Same. Same.So weâre starting a brand new series on the ENTIRE BIBLE. Yep, everything in seven weeks. If youâve ever wondered âhow to start reading the Bibleâ or what a good Bible study plan is, this is the series for you.Sound boring? Nah! This will be all you need to show how the Bible points us towards Jesus, even in the Old Testament. And discover how life-changing actually reading the Bible can be for you.We kick it off by looking at The Law books of the Bible. The first five books of the Bible, also known as the Torah or Pentateuch, can be read like a bunch of rules, but the Law books are so much more than that. They reveal the heart of God and His radical love for people.
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What are âstrongholdsâ? Strongholds are more than sins; theyâre the patterns, addictions, behaviors, or traits that you might not even realize are holding you back from being the person God created you to be. The good news? The grace of God is available to all of us, and He will help you break free from the strongholdsâthe sinsâthat keep you from leaning into the full life He intended for you.We explore John 10:10 to discover where weâre stuck and practical ways to break free from what holds you back from life at its fullest.
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If youâre the type of Christian who attends church a couple of Sundays each month and maybe reads a Bible plan on your phone app every so often, youâre not living up to your full potential.Just attending church is not enough to fully live out Godâs plan. Our true purpose in life is living as the church every day. Wherever you are, thatâs where God has placed you and He means for you to make a difference in the community right outside your door.How do you make a difference in your everyday life? We pray, we listen to and serve others, we get into Christian community and partner with God to love peopleâeveryoneâaround us.Pastor Dave Dummitt finishes up the series in Ephesians 5:1-20, urging us to be the light of the world today.
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Where does your loyalty lie? Your sports team? Your family? Your political party?What about with Jesus? Does Jesus sit at the top of your loyalty list? If not, we can become diverted from God by other things. As much as we might feel passionate about a cause we believe in, or fiercely loyal to our âpeopleâ; Jesus should always be the one you're most passionate about.And our loyalty to Jesus gets tested every day. The world puts pressure on Christians to live outside of the moral boundaries God gave us. But when God transformed your heart, you were made into a new person; loyal to Jesus and committed to following Him.And in that commitment, you heart should be expanding. Because your relationship with Jesus should be destroying any hatred or animosity for others. In this moment, what is your heart doing? Pastor Thomas Anderson, Jr. takes us into Ephesians 2 to demonstrate where our priorities and loyalty should really lie.
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Itâs easy for Christians to focus solely on answering the question; âhow do I get into Heaven''? and getting others into Heaven with them. But when we break the real message of the Bible down to just that, weâre missing a huge part of it: Godâs purpose for your life.Godâs not only concerned about you getting into Heaven, He wants you to express Heaven while youâre here on earth. On earth as it is in Heaven, right? The bigger story of the Bible lifts up every human being as a valued member of the community in which they reside on earthâand itâs our calling as Christians to partner with Jesus in bringing love to our neighbors.This week, Pastor Megan Marshman shows us how Paul in the Bible reminded the church in his letter (Ephesians 1:3-14) of this truth: that God put us here on earth to change the world, and be a part of bridging Heaven and earth.
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When you become a Christian you have to follow a bunch of boring rules, right? Well⊠sort of! Itâs not so much rules as it is moral boundaries that God sets. These boundaries allow us the freedom to live fully in the beautiful life He has planned for us.Some people believe theyâre being a âgood Christianâ by following the âChristian rulesâ. Perhaps they donât smoke, or they donât drink. They donât swear or sleep around. They tick off the rule boxes like thatâs the most important thing. But theyâre missing the essential part: their heart.Many people have experienced church hurt because they have not lived up to an arbitrary set of religious rules and been painfully expelled by their community. But Jesus wouldnât turn a woman away for wearing too short of a skirt, or ban an unmarried pregnant teen from His presence. He would treat them with the exact same love He would treat anyone. And that is what we as Christians should be doing as well. Your life of faith is less about following supposed âChristian rulesâ and more about pursuing what is good, so that all people can thrive. Pastor Dave Dummitt teaches from Ephesians 4.
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What do Christians get wrong about Christianity? We can all be in danger of veering off in a direction that God never intended. In this new series, exploring the church in the book of Ephesians in the Bible, our hope is to remember the mission of the church as it was originally designed, and inspire you to be a part of it!When Christians think itâs all about us, we surround ourselves with those who look and think like us, and we miss the opportunity to have authentic connection with people who can stretch, challenge and support us. This week, we look at how our church, our community within the church, and being an active part of that reflects what Jesus began. How will you get into the community at your church and start making a positive difference in the wider community around you? Because itâs not just about creating Christian community for you, itâs about connecting with, and supporting, other people too.
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