Woodland Hills Church

Like many things, social media has such incredible power for good, but also an incredible power for evil. One way that this evil is manifested is through the temptation of presenting ourselves only at our best in order to get LIFE from social media approval. What is the Kingdom response to this temptation?

Why do we keep participating in social media even when it is not good for us? This week, David goes into three big reasons why we are drawn in, and what it could look like to live faithfully to the gospel in our hyperconnected world.

In this introductory message to our new series called Interface, which deals with a Christian's role and interaction with technology, Greg walks through how we got to where we are, both as a human species as well as a Christian sub-culture. There is a general principle of proportionality that applies to all things including technology. It says a thing or person's capacity for good is directly proportional to its capacity for evil. Greg walks through that exercise in counting the cost of our interaction with technology.

There are two fundamental hindrances to living generously as the New Testament teaches. The first is that of the wrong motivation. The common teaching in the church is that we give because we must follow the Old Testament law of the tithe. However, the New Testament provides a different motivation, one that empowers us to give freely. The second hindrance is the modern attachment to possessions. When we address these two hindrances, we will find that sacrificial giving is a "get to not got to" thing, thus finding freedom in giving our time and money for the sake of others.

Generosity is a tricky subject because so many think it primarily relates to how much a person gives. However, God's view of generosity is different. It is about learning to live in agape love where we are not doing what we do in order to get more from others, but in order to give and receive love in a community. When we do this, generosity flows our of hearts in natural ways, with surprising acts that bless others.

The grand story of the Bible is moving toward an end, one where God will reveal himself as he is. But what does that actually mean? When we take into account the entire biblical narrative, one that is centered around the cross, this means that God will fully unveil his love and we will not only see him as love, but also we will see ourselves as God's beloved bride.

In this week's message, Osheta continues our look at the biblical narrative themes of covenant and kingdom by using the Lord's Prayer as a guide. Jesus' own creative and kingdom focused practice that he gave us so that we can grow in our Kingdom literacy. By praying the Lord's Prayer regularly, we reinforce the values of the Kingdom in our hearts so that we can live faithfully into our Covenant.

In this week's message, Dan continues our look at the biblical narrative themes of covenant and kingdom in the story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. After his baptism and before the start of his ministry, Jesus was tempted in three very important ways by Satan. In this message we learn how Jesus inserts himself in to the biblical narrative and seeks to fulfill the promises and potential of old testament characters like Israel, Adam & Eve, and King David.

The New Covenant, which was inaugurated by Jesus and we celebrate with the sign of the communion meal, is a reframing of the Passover Meal from Exodus. In that Old Testament story we see how God defeated evil by allowing evil to act upon itself. In the same way, the cross brings victory over sin and defeats Satan through the hidden wisdom of love.

In this past weekend's sermon, we take a birds-eye view of the prophets, and what they teach us about one of God's most core values: taking care of the vulnerable.