Gateway Church Austin

We all want to be “happy,” but how can you be happy when so much keeps going wrong? Jesus gives us a promise, a right, as children of God to experience joy at all times. God’s joy transcends what others do or don’t do and transcends circumstances. Discover how to live with pure joy throughout this new year.

God offers us access to a new way of living as a part of a new family. God’s family is loving, kind, grace-giving, and multi-ethnic. We can have healthy friendships and a healthier version of the family we’ve always dreamed about as we learn to do our part to live out who God created us to be. As we celebrate the holiday weekend which honors the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we can discover that his dream for our world was a glimpse of what God promises we can have with His help.

It’s easy to find ourselves too busy, too overwhelmed, and too behind with all we have to do. Inevitably, it always feels like we never have enough of what we need to pull things off. But what if we are seeing things all wrong? In this new year, we can start with a fresh perspective and discover all we actually have access to Right Now as gifts from God. When it comes to more hope, healthier relationships, pure joy, and overwhelming peace, God says: “Take as much as you need.”

John Lee engages us to explore how God is a God who makes things new. God wants to give us a new perspective of who he is. He works through people like you and me to re-present himself to the world around us. What kind of "agent" of God's goodness will you be in the new year?

Jesus + ________ = Everything. What do you put in the blank? Listen as Ricky Echeona helps us explore how to live a life that seeks to follow Jesus and doesn't settle by filling in the blank.

This life never quite feels like home. We can feel it. There is something missing. Jesus came to bring more and more of the Home of God into a world that is going away from God. Jesus’ birth announced peace to all people on whom God’s favor rests. As we allow God’s light to shine through us, we let people see a taste of Home.

Hurt people hurt people – especially those closest to them. When things are not messy, it usually means we’re not that close. When we get close, we see differences, rub each other wrong, and step on toes. When we push through these difficulties to true acceptance and love of the other that is when we feel really known and loved. As we learn restorative principles in our church family, we can bring healing to our biological families.

Family can be the source of great joy and great pain. When so many of us come from dysfunctional families, we can learn new family dynamics where forgiveness rather than bitterness and kindness rather than cruelty become the way we relate with each other.

All of us feel lonely at times, sometimes even in a crowd or at home with our families. Other times we feel lonely because we’re new to an area, or just don’t feel like anyone really knows us. God sees the lonely, and He cares. God cares about our relationships and helps us experience a community that can be healthy and healing.

Over the last couple of months we asked you to submit your questions about faith, God, Jesus, angels, evil, and the Bible. Today you'll hear a discussion rather than a sermon, and how we explored answers to some of your questions.

The Oxford Dictionary defines the word thankful as "pleased and relieved." Both of those are great feelings... The Oxford Dictionary defines the word grateful as "showing an appreciation of kindness." This is where the difference lies, being thankful is a feeling, and being grateful is an action.

Poverty, injustice, corruption, violence, racism, and sexism are just some of the ways that evil manifests in our world. At the root of all evil perpetrated by humans is people’s personal decision to follow a lie rather than the truth. The solution to the problem of evil isn’t in changing all those people out there, it starts within us. The line between good and evil runs through every human heart. With God’s help, we can live in the light of truth and fight against the evil within and the evil in our world.

What is an angel? Are they real? Are they chubby babies with harps sitting on clouds? So much of what we believe about the spiritual realm and the afterlife comes from Renaissance paintings and myths that swirl around in our culture. Instead, we will go back to the ancient text where stories of angels in the Bible are very different than what we might expect. And knowing the truth about the unseen world makes a difference in our lives.

Our world is intrigued and sometimes even embraces evil. Horror movies make a ton of money at the box office. Shows about the occult, the paranormal, and true crime are all big business. Why are we so drawn towards evil? And where does evil originate? Discover how evil can be found in the world’s systems, in the human heart, and because of unseen spiritual forces.

God speaks to us in many ways, but often the problem is we are not listening. One of the ways He speaks to us is through the Scriptures. The Bible is not a rule book or an encyclopedia, but instead “the Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus” (BibleProject.com). When we connect with God personally, the Scriptures become one of our weapons to fight evil in our world and in our lives. The Bible can become a portal into God’s presence.

God created us for a relationship. His love letter, his truth, is available to us through the Scriptures. There will be questions and there will be moments of pause, but the Bible can be the foundation on which we build our lives. The Bible is relevant by helping us understand who God is and how to live a new life under His leadership and with His guidance. Transformation comes when we engage God through the Scriptures.

When we need clarity, wisdom, peace, comfort, or rest, we have ancient wisdom which can guide us towards what we want. Unfortunately, many of us have given up on the Bible or consider it irrelevant to life. It is true, the Bible has been misunderstood, misinterpreted, and even used for the agenda of people who did not have the heart of God or were a product of their times. When we come to the Scriptures with an open heart and open mind, we will discover God waiting to speak to us and ready to meet even our deepest needs.

Growth always requires change. When we take advantage of the discomforts and tests we face, we can make significant progress in our lives. This requires intentionality. As we take personal responsibility for our spiritual growth, we will be more engaged with God personally and more connected with others relationally.

In spite of such a challenging season, we also experienced some really positive moments. Neighbors helped each other when we lost power and water. We shared with others when there were food shortages. We helped others, and we got help. We caught a glimpse of the kind of community God has in mind for all of us. We can make BLESSing our neighbors an ongoing part of our lives.

During these last 18 months, we experienced an epidemic of loneliness and isolation which negatively affected our mental health. God created us to Belong. Community and connection are essential to thrive. God’s family allows us to experience His love and kindness through other people.