Many have walked away from the faith because the church has embraced patriarchal patterns. This sermon addresses what patriarchy is, how Jesus responded to it during his time and takes a hard look at how patriarchy remains a problem today. Here is an alternative perspective that tears down the patterns of control and abuse that deride and demean women, and empowers them to walk as peers alongside men in the world and in the church.
History shows the church has promoted violence in various forms, and many have turned away from the faith as a result. This sermon examines this issue and addresses the alternative that Jesus brings and what the church should offer the world.
How do we understand the problem of evil and its relationship to God’s work in the world? The common perspective is that God causes evil, but Greg offers an alternative view.
We live in a world where most people believe in some form of a God, but more often than not, people do not view God as personal or in a relationship with us. This sermon explores why it is logical to say both that God exists and is personal, and then it examines the importance of cultivating this personal interaction with God.
In a culture where the foundations of truth are unraveling, Greg offers a framework that equips us to focus on Jesus and walk with others who might see things differently than we do.
This sermon covers the problem of science vs. faith and the supposed division between the two that often drives away people from the church. Dan Kent proposes a solution to resolve the differences, showing us how the two can work together and complement one another.
In this sermon, Emily Morrison looks at what happens right after Jesus feeds the 5000 to point out the importance of raising questions about our faith. She offers an explanation of three phases of our faith journey that allow us to embrace the questions and find a way through them by ultimately bringing them to Jesus.
Is it possible to claim to know any absolute truth in an age in which everything is heading in the direction of relativism? In this sermon, Greg gives us three reasons to take relativism seriously and understand why people might think it plausible.
The church too often puts on display bad news that drives people away from God. This sermon confronts this pattern and shows us a different way—a way of love that can provide an experience of good news.
In this sermon, Greg provides an introduction to a new series on the reason why we believe in and follow Christ. He surveys why this topic is important and some of the various questions that we will explore in the series. Then Greg explains the foundation of his faith that he worked out when he was wresting with questions of belief.
As a conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount series, a panel discusses the high points of the series and interacts with the teachings in a personal way, helping us put the words of Jesus into action.
In remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr., Greg engages the teaching of King to challenge the church to continue God’s call to tear down walls that divide people along racial lines.
Jesus spoke with authority, but what does this authority mean for today when we tend to distrust authority figures? In this sermon Dan addresses why acting on Jesus’ teaching is so crucial to actually understanding what he said. Jesus’ truth is not merely a set of facts that we give assent to. They are life truths that we can only fully know when we live them out.
In a world full of false messages, we need to hear God’s truth, specifically the truth about who we are as God’s children. This is not merely hearing factual truths about our identity, but opening our hearts to receive God’s truth, which means we must let go of things in our hearts that hinder these truths from sinking in.
Hope sets the course for our lives, as our hope determines our daily actions. But often we go through life putting our hope in that which has no ultimate importance. Christmas redefines hope, showing us what is ultimately valuable, and it demonstrates how God transforms our lives and the entire world.
Loneliness pervades our society today. Jesus came to be with us, driving out isolation and confronting the demonic patterns that keep us from receiving and giving the love of God to one another.
We are meant to live with meaning, but our world seems to offer meanings that ultimately fail to measure up to their promises. Jesus came into the world to give us meaning, the kind of meaning that can only be found from knowing the destination of the journey of life.
At Christmas time, we announce the coming of the Prince of Peace. Yet we look around at our world and peace appears to be the last thing that describes our situation. What does Christ’s peace look like in the midst of the tumult and chaos that we experience on a daily basis?
In this sermon, Greg addresses Jesus’ teaching on the differences between the wise and the foolish builders and what it means to act on what Jesus instructs.
There is a distinct difference between false and true prophets. We know this difference by their fruit, by what they promote in the lives of others. The challenge is that because false prophets promote the norms of a culture they are easily embraced as being true.
In this sermon, Greg address the differences between the wide and the narrow ways, and explains how we can embrace the life that comes with the narrow path.
In this panel discussion, Paul Eddy, Dan Kent and Shawna Boren discuss various aspects of prayer, specifically about why prayer matters and how to grow in it.
The end of the Sermon on the Mount offers two ways, or two paths to follow. In this sermon, Dan introduces the tradition of the Two Ways and then connects the way of life to the way of Jesus.
Greg teaches how what we build on the foundation of Jesus Christ will be tested by fire in the Final Judgment. That which aligns with the Kingdom will be purified and that which does not will be burned away.
In this sermon, Greg addresses the question of how Christ died and gave life to all, but at the same time, people can choose death and therefore reject this life. This is set in the context of the end judgment of God.
In this sermon, Jim Beilby addresses the question about the destiny of the un-evangelized, proposing that people are given the opportunity to receive Christ’s true revelation of himself after death.
In this sermon, Greg reviews some of the primary ways that God has worked in our church over the last three decades. This retrospective invites us into thanksgiving, celebration, and wonder at God’s faithfulness.
This sermon address the nature of God’s judgment at the end of time and how it relates to the suffering we are encountering in the midst of the struggles of this present life.
This sermon provides a brief report card on how well humans are doing at caring for God’s creation, specifically as it relates to Earth’s climate.
The vision of Woodland Hills is “Learning to Love Together.” This is practiced in four dimensions: loving God, loving ourselves, loving other people and loving creation.
