Atlanta Westside Presbyterian Church

Atlanta Westside Presbyterian Church

di Walter Henegar

Religione e spiritualità

Childlike

Covid-19 (and many other circumstances) leave us feeling small and childlike. Our tendency is to want to despise feelings of smallness and to move toward places of competency, achievement, and status. But Jesus shows his disciples that the only way into the kingdom of heaven is through childlikeness, and ultimately, it is also the only way to grow into maturity in his kingdom. Jesus himself has not despised childlikeness, but became a child who grew in stature and maturity in order that he might die for our sakes. Our relationship with God the Father is our only relationship where we can know that we will never have to be the grown up.

Why Are You Persecuting Me?

The conversion of Saul was dramatic, but it illustrates three universal features of believing in Jesus. Whether we are trusting him for the first time or the millionth, we must experience these three “flashes”: recognizing ourselves, confronting the person of Jesus, and learning dependence. As we do, Jesus transforms us from self-blind, self-righteous law-chasers to self-aware, humble, curious people who increasingly love others like Jesus.

Why Do Doubts Arise In Your Hearts?

Luke’s account of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearance on Easter Sunday evening demonstrates the complex nature of faith. Rather than giving us a simple factoid to believe or reject, Jesus invites us into a whole-person process of coming to accept reality and living into it. This process includes at least six stages: Evidence, Personal trust, an Opened Mind, a Story, a Role to Play, and Power. Together, they help us to “practice resurrection” in a dynamic relationship with him.

He Has Provided (Good Friday 2020)

Tomo Ito, our soon-to-be-graduated seminarian and volunteer coordinator, preached this powerful message connecting Abraham's offering of Isaac on Mount Moriah with God the Father's offering of Jesus on Good Friday.

Why Are You Weeping?

Jesus’ question to Mary Magdalene gently challenges her to align her internal sense of reality with the new reality of his resurrection. The Gospels bear witness to this claim in a way that’s uniquely persuasive. Because Jesus ascended to the Father, he has inaugurated the Kingdom of God – the new world where Cosmic Spring is always breaking through until he returns. And because he calls us “brothers” (and sisters), we can join his family purely by grace, enjoying his constant presence through his Holy Spirit. All of these blessings come to those who personally trust him, like Mary did, as our Rabboni (my Teacher) – the Cosmic Gardener who knows your name.

Do You Understand What I Have Done to You?

Jesus’ question in v. 12 invites us to consider why he washed his disciples’ feet. We can discern at least three reasons: First and most obviously, so we will wash each others’ feet in humble acts of service. Right now, doing this wisely requires creativity! Second and most importantly, so we will know our own need to be spiritually cleansed by faith in Jesus’ finished work on the cross. As Peter learned in vs. 8-11, only those who are “washed” by Jesus have any share in him. Third and most practically, so we will continue applying the finished work of Jesus to our own ongoing need for forgiveness. Just as our feet need regular washing, so our souls need regular repentance and faith to keep growing. All of these reasons are fueled by Jesus’ amazing love for us “to the end” – or as some translations put it, “to the uttermost” (v. 1).

Do You Think I Have Come to Bring Peace?

Following Jesus creates temporary division until he brings permanent peace. Jesus was separated through a baptism of fire so that we could be Included through a baptism of water. Ultimately, Jesus divides humanity into those who are united to him by faith and those who aren’t. Counterintuitively, this positions Christians to be “us-for-them,” or even “us-for-those-who-are-against-us.” Through the power of Jesus working in us, we can share our faith, serve sacrificially and resolve conflict in healthy ways.

Will the Son of Man Find Faith on Earth?

Jesus' parable about a persistent widow is not about bugging God till he begrudgingly gives us what we want. It's about praying when we feel helpless, binding us to the heart of God, and liberating us both to cry out to him and to join him in his redeeming work.

This is a Test

Every "desert" season of uncertainty is ultimately a test of our trust in the Lord. This short homily was preached in our first-ever only-livestream worship service, in response to the worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus COVID-19.

Who Touched Me?

When Jesus heals people, it’s always about more than healing. The simple question that punctuates this scene – Who touched me? – reveals his compassion for both the hurting and the hurried. More than healing the bleeding woman, Jesus’ words affirm the value of her faith, and confirm her peace with God, and signal to the town that she is no longer to be treated like an outcast. Jesus calls her “Daughter” because what she needs above all else is a clear-eyed relationship with him, which can only be secured by his cross. The hurried disciples, on the other hand, are so eager for ministry success that they miss the bigger miracle Jesus is doing along the way. His question helps them to see their own need to be made whole, and ultimately to receive others as a gift.

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