Willow Creek Weekend Podcast Willow Creek Community Church

It’s easy for Christians to focus solely on answering the question; “how do I get into Heaven''? and getting others into Heaven with them. But when we break the real message of the Bible down to just that, we’re missing a huge part of it: God’s purpose for your life.

God’s not only concerned about you getting into Heaven, He wants you to express Heaven while you’re here on earth. On earth as it is in Heaven, right? The bigger story of the Bible lifts up every human being as a valued member of the community in which they reside on earth–and it’s our calling as Christians to partner with Jesus in bringing love to our neighbors.

This week, Pastor Megan Marshman shows us how Paul in the Bible reminded the church in his letter (Ephesians 1:3-14) of this truth: that God put us here on earth to change the world, and be a part of bridging Heaven and earth.

When you become a Christian you have to follow a bunch of boring rules, right? Well… sort of! It’s not so much rules as it is moral boundaries that God sets. These boundaries allow us the freedom to live fully in the beautiful life He has planned for us.

Some people believe they’re being a “good Christian” by following the “Christian rules”. Perhaps they don’t smoke, or they don’t drink. They don’t swear or sleep around. They tick off the rule boxes like that’s the most important thing. But they’re missing the essential part: their heart.

Many people have experienced church hurt because they have not lived up to an arbitrary set of religious rules and been painfully expelled by their community. But Jesus wouldn’t turn a woman away for wearing too short of a skirt, or ban an unmarried pregnant teen from His presence. He would treat them with the exact same love He would treat anyone. And that is what we as Christians should be doing as well.

Your life of faith is less about following supposed “Christian rules” and more about pursuing what is good, so that all people can thrive. Pastor Dave Dummitt teaches from Ephesians 4.

What do Christians get wrong about Christianity? We can all be in danger of veering off in a direction that God never intended. In this new series, exploring the church in the book of Ephesians in the Bible, our hope is to remember the mission of the church as it was originally designed, and inspire you to be a part of it!

When Christians think it’s all about us, we surround ourselves with those who look and think like us, and we miss the opportunity to have authentic connection with people who can stretch, challenge and support us. This week, we look at how our church, our community within the church, and being an active part of that reflects what Jesus began. How will you get into the community at your church and start making a positive difference in the wider community around you? Because it’s not just about creating Christian community for you, it’s about connecting with, and supporting, other people too.

All things are possible with God. No, really!
Nehemiah’s story in the Bible shows us how, in partnering with God first, nothing is impossible. Nehemiah does what was previously impossible for 100 years–built the walls of Jerusalem–through his faith and partnership with God. What could that look like today for us?

In our final week of Celebration of Hope 2024, Pastors Dave and Shawn challenge us and demonstrate, through the story of Nehemiah, how we can come together to help make big dreams come true and make a huge impact in the world!

Do you have what it takes to make a difference in the world? To change it for the better and to help others? 

Yes! You do! 

Nehemiah, in the Bible, felt like he had many constraints, but he was still able to use his influence as King Artaxerxes’ cupbearer and his connection to God to serve others in need. And you can too.

In week two of Celebration of Hope 2024, David Temfwe of the Jubilee Centre, one of our partners in Zambia, demonstrates how God has given us all that we need to use our influence, connections, and resources to help people around the world, and tells us how the Jubilee Centre is making a significant impact in the lives of the people they serve in Zambia.

What do you do when you’re faced with a big problem? Most of us do one of two things: either move quickly into action, or become overwhelmed and freeze. It’s fight, or flight, or freeze.

When we think about how to change the world, or how to help people in difficult times, our best course of action is to go to God first. It’s a natural thing to want to help so badly that we rush in out of desperation or to feel so overwhelmed by the scale of a problem that we simply can’t find our way into action. And that’s where attuning your heart to God becomes incredibly powerful.