Willow Creek Community Church Weekend Podcast

People have been asking what is the next vision for Willow Creek in this new season of ministry. But the real question is: what is God’s vision for His church. This week, Senior Pastor, Dave Dummitt shares more about where we are going as a church.

God so loved the world that He gave His only son. He gave. He is the greatest giver, and wants us to experience more joy, more purpose, more freedom than we can imagine when we choose to emulate his generosity with our own lives. Open-handed living opens hands to receive real fullness.

Jesus crossed cultural lines to change the paradigm of people’s thinking regarding the greatest commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus chose the disqualified and disenfranchised, the outcasts and the overlooked, to be his students who would in turn change the world. Jesus has also promised to teach us.

The power of life existed in flesh in Jesus. And yet in all of his power and authority, Jesus modeled the life of a servant showing us that the way up is down. Pastor Albert Tate teaches.

We seek doctors when we are sick, but Jesus does even greater work: he resurrects what is beyond remedy. If Jesus raises the dead to life, no situation we face is beyond hope or healing.

Many of us keep striving for faulty prizes: the house, car, family, & finances are our grown-up trophies. Turns out the roof will wear out, the car’s getting rusty, family isn’t what Instagram says it is, and that trophy broke years ago. This week we are going to see what faith in Christ looks like and how that can change the prize we strive for in life.

We live in a culture that says things like "Take pride in your work" and "Be proud of who you are.” But is it possible for pride to go too far? Could the limiting factor of joy in your life be due to pride? Join us this week as we look at the posture of pride and unpack a better way to lasting joy.

Life is hard. Circumstances can knock us down and threaten to rob us of joy and peace. But what if the story is bigger than what we see? What if it’s really true that God will finish what He started and that the end of the story for all of God’s children is good? What if we can really have lasting joy in spite of circumstances?

We strive to become great. We climb the ladders, aim for the trophies, and strive for the titles. Jesus has a thing or two to teach us about what lasting greatness really means. He flips the scripts to teach us that to climb up we must get low, and the best leaders are servants.

Sometimes Jesus calms the storms. But sometimes Jesus walks on the choppy waters with us. The question is: are we asking for big enough things? Are we asking for things that move us closer to Jesus?

Love being waterside in the summer? Jesus did too. This week we’re continuing “Summer at the Lake.” Megan Marshman takes us through a time when twelve men who had left everything to follow Jesus find themselves in peril on the water. Meanwhile, Jesus is...taking a nap? What do you do when life happens and it seems like God is off-the-clock.

Summer means fun in the sun and lots of water play. Jesus had a thing for water too. Throughout this series we’re diving into some of Jesus’ most profound moments in and near water. Albert Tate takes a look at Jesus’ most famous sermon to challenge us that what we perceive as ordinary will actually change the world.

Covid is not the only pandemic. In a culture that lives at a breakneck pace during healthy seasons, tens of millions of people suffer from anxiety, depression, and more. Suicide rates are on the rise. During a global health crisis, more and more people feel a sense of fear, hopelessness, and wondering if there’s a way out of the prisons of their own minds. This series endeavors to address the all-too-real mental health issues that so many people face by using the story of Elijah to highlight real and lasting hope that God offers in spite of circumstances.

Covid is not the only pandemic. In a culture that lives at a breakneck pace during healthy seasons, tens of millions of people suffer from anxiety, depression, and more. Suicide rates are on the rise. During a global health crisis, more and more people feel a sense of fear, hopelessness, and wondering if there’s a way out of the prisons of their own minds. This series endeavors to address the all-too-real mental health issues that so many people face by using the story of Elijah to highlight real and lasting hope that God offers in spite of circumstances.

What defines your worth? We spend a lot of our lives trying to do enough to feel like we measure up, meanwhile many of us struggle to wonder if we will ever feel worthy of love, affection, or respect. This week we're going to take a look at what God has to say about our worth. Pastor Albert Tate teaches.

I Kings 19:3, “Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree.” Vs. 15, “Go back the same way you came and travel to the wilderness. When you arrive there, anoint Heazael to be king of Aram.” We think that there is no way out of the situation so we run from reality. We try to get as far away from reality as possible. Elijah’s reality is so distorted at this point. emphasize in this message how God meets his physical needs and then actually tells him to go back the way he came. The way back is the way out. There is a way, but it’s not easy, and a lot of the time it’s hard work. Part of the lie that is connected to this is that it will always be this way. I can’t change. My situation will not get better. I will always be depressed. I will always be sad. I will always have anxiety.

In a world experiencing crisis and rapid change, everyone is navigating new waters. Here at Willow, we are welcoming our new Senior Pastor, Dave Dummitt, and everyone is asking, "So, what's next?" This week Dave opens up in Matthew 3 and 4 to take a look at how Jesus began his public ministry and how that ought to shape the way we navigate through significant change.

It’s easy for any of us to forget what’s brought us through hard times and what will carry us into brighter ones. In Deuteronomy 8, as God’s people prepared to step into the Promised Land, Moses reminded them to look to who God had been. The one who freed them, defended them, fed them, mended them, and led them, is the one who would continue to be with them. Will we remember that our God is faithful in the wilderness and beyond?

Social distancing has quickly entered the common vernacular. But how quickly does social distancing devolve into social isolation? Some of us are further than we’ve ever been, and others of us are closer than ever. But are any of us together? How can we can lean on and learn from one another, each helping the other to stand strong?