Woodland Hills Church

Jesus came to set us free so that we can shine with his love. But sometimes darkness in our own heart gets in the way of the life he wants for us. Many times our own thoughts, beliefs and feelings are at the root of why we don’t live as Kingdom people. A key to addressing this darkness is to realize that our perceptions are not what’s real, and instead align our thoughts and feelings with God’s truth.

Jesus didn’t water down his message for the crowds or give them just what they wanted to hear. Jesus called them (and us) to repent – to face reality and turn from living in lies that hinder our ability to participate in what God is doing in the world. God’s Kingdom happens in our lives and in our communities when we repent and line our lives up with God’s way of looking at the world and God’s ways of living.

In our culture celebrity worship is rampant. Because of their money, talent, and the attention they receive, many of us live through pop icons. Sadly, this same mentality creeps into the church. We can be tempted to elevate church leaders above everyone else and think that the Kingdom happens through them alone. Their prayers count more. Their words are more powerful. Their service is more significant. Jesus came to destroy this thinking!

Time is ticking away. Being alive in this world means that we are moving toward death, and to some degree that makes most of us afraid. That fear can drive us to many different sources of worldly security, but the good news (the Easter news!) is that no one needs to live in fear.

Followers of Jesus are called to recognize the spiritual war we’re in and “get in the game” because there is no neutral zone of safety. Casual Christianity is not an option from Jesus’ perspective – he makes it clear that we cannot settle for a comfortable faith. We are called out of safe (and boring!) Christianity into the reality of a war where we stand up for truth in the midst of a world full of lies.

Is there really a spiritual war? Do we believe that there is such a thing as a spiritual reality? If we don’t, we will engage the wrong enemy. Instead of fighting the powers of Satan, we will target other humans, often with hatred and violence. Spiritual warfare practiced through love and prayer is central to the Christian walk, but we need constant reminders in our Western culture that there really is a spiritual war going on.

In Luke 11, Jesus talks about this world as a “house” that Satan guards. As Kingdom people, what do we do with that? If we look to Jesus, he simply tells us to take back the house. And how exactly do we do that? We don’t adopt the patterns of Satan and try to overcome violence with violence. Looking again to Jesus, he shows us that the only thing that can overpower evil, and that is self-sacrificial love. Only love can conquer evil; only light can dispel darkness.

Is hearing God really a possibility? Can we live in a dynamic conversation with God despite so many different voices competing for our attention on a daily basis? In this message, Dwayne explains the basic beliefs that are required for this kind of conversation, and breaks down some of the common obstacles that stand in the way.

As a person with muscular dystrophy, Scott has countless personal experiences that illustrate the principles that Greg taught about in the previous two sermons. Scott has personally wrestled with questions about why some prayers are answered and others are not – most fundamentally related to why he himself hasn’t been healed.

Why does it seem like some prayers work while others don’t give us the results we want? If our prayers don’t seem to work, who is to blame? God? Ourselves? Others? To begin to understand prayer, we must break free from a simplistic and commonly held “magical view” of prayer. There are many variables that affect prayer and faith and how they work together.