West Church's Podcasts

Preached on Sunday the 11th of December, 2022.
Christmas is all about the Christ of God, God's long-promised Saviour for the world. But what does it mean to be saved? And what must we understand about this Christ? This passage in Isaiah gives us simple, clear and yet profound answers to these questions.

Preached on Sunday the 19th of November, 2023.
Isaiah 30:8-18
8 And now, go, write it before them on a tablet
and inscribe it in a book,
that it may be for the time to come
as a witness forever.
9 For they are a rebellious people,
lying children,
children unwilling to hear
the instruction of the Lord;
10 who say to the seers, “Do not see,”
and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;
speak to us smooth things,
prophesy illusions,
11 leave the way, turn aside from the path,
let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”
12 Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel,
“Because you despise this word
and trust in oppression and perverseness
and rely on them,
13 therefore this iniquity shall be to you
like a breach in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse,
whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant;
14 and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel
that is smashed so ruthlessly
that among its fragments not a shard is found
with which to take fire from the hearth,
or to dip up water out of the cistern.”

15 For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel,
“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
But you were unwilling, 16 and you said,
“No! We will flee upon horses”;
therefore you shall flee away;
and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”;
therefore your pursuers shall be swift.
17 A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;
at the threat of five you shall flee,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,
like a signal on a hill.

18 Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.

Intro Music by Julius H. from Pixabay

Outro Music by PianoAmor from Pixabay

Preached on Sunday the 28th of August, 2022.
An apostle, a slave and a slave-owner are all brought together in this wonderful letter of insight into the true nature of Christian love.

Preached on Sunday the 21st of August, 2022.
We are so used to bringing something to the table. Our jobs, sports teams and standing in society depend on it. Our standing before God is totally different. There is nothing we could offer him but our sin, shame, and guilt. If we think we could offer him anything good, we underestimate our sinfulness and underestimate his holiness. It is impossible to earn acceptance from God. That work is reserved for Christ alone.

In this passage Jesus calls us to abandon anything we think we could bring to the table. He leads us to come with childlike faith, trusting in nothing that we have done ourselves but in everything he has done. “For to such belongs the kingdom of God.”

Preached on Sunday the 11th of July.