Woodland Hills Church

Many well-meaning Christians speculate about the end of the world and the return of Jesus. The problem is that most of these perspectives vary greatly and can cause a lot of fear and stress. But when we hear Jesus’ teaching about the end of the world, he focuses us in a direction that is quite different than many of today’s popular ideas.

So many of us have a messed up view of God. We don’t understand how our Father in heaven loves us beyond imagination. Because we lack a clear picture of God’s love, we cling to this world and all of its concerns. Our lives can get consumed by worry. But when we see the reality of God’s love, this world's problems are small by comparison.

As a society, we’re extremely worried. Concern about countless issues pervades our lives: our relationships, our kids, terror attacks, global warming, pandemics, the economy, living the American Dream – if we’re not careful, this worry can consume us. Jesus provides us with the Kingdom alternative to worrying, and it’s surprisingly related to birds and flowers.

Many times the modern American church views God as a judge or lawyer and the main goal of the church is to enforce certain rules. While God is the ultimate judge, he is also madly in love with humanity and wants to see everyone restored. If we look at how God has been extravagantly rich towards us, we begin to see what it means for us to be rich towards God and others.

Is God's presence merely something we expect to experience once a week during a church service? Or maybe even once a day during a time of prayer? The truth is that God's presence pervades our life, but we are usually to distracted to notice. We are invited to experience God's presence on a moment by moment basis in our daily lives.

No one wants to be told how to spend their money, but Jesus was not silent on the subject. He warned against greed and storing up treasures for ourselves while calling us to care for the poor and those who are less fortunate. His words may cause us discomfort, but they confront a very strong individualistic mindset that is just as prevalent in the church today as it is in secular culture.

What does it mean to “get saved?” Many people (especially people in the United States) see salvation as a one time event and the result of “believing” certain things about God. While belief is important, salvation encompasses much more than that. The salvation that God offers is a continual personal transformation where the trash of our old lives is replaced by the beauty of God's Kingdom.

Some of Jesus' words were very challenging to the people of his time, and for us. One of the traits that he gave strong warnings about was hypocrisy – when our “public” lives don't match who we really are. Keeping these parts of our lives aligned is a major challenge and it almost always requires sacrifice. We don't like to move outside our comfort zones, but it's what is required if we want to partner with God to build his Kingdom.

Leaders are crucial to what God is doing to spread his Kingdom. While there are many good church leaders who serve from healthy perspectives, there are far too many who have caused pain by abusing those in their communities. Jesus boldly challenged such religious leaders in his time, and what he said gives us a biblical understanding of leadership and how it should operate in the church.

How does true spiritual change occur? Sometimes we focus on the outside and try to change ourselves through what we do. But we don’t become clean by paying attention to external “religious” behaviors. In this sermon we’re challenged with the example of generosity to the poor and learn that becoming clean is an “inside-out” process, where we allow the Spirit of God to transform us on the inside so that our outside behavior lines up with his Kingdom.