Stay ConnectedWestGate Church is a community in Silicon Valley learning to live the way of Jesus, together.
Whether you’re exploring faith or have followed Jesus for years, these teachings are an invitation: not just to believe something, but to practice a different way of life. A way marked by presence, transformation, and love.
With campuses in Saratoga, Almaden, and Redwood City, WestGate is a place where you’re welcome as you are, and where we are learning to be with God for the good of all.
This past weekend, we talked about how one (hugely important!) element of the Here to Stay Campaign is about generosity - we want to try, as a church, to give away more money outside of our walls than we ever have before. But why? Wouldn’t it be faster just to keep that money and use it for our own projects instead of giving it away? Well, it all comes down to “compassion.” Jay and David trace the concept of God’s compassion all the way back, and discover, shockingly, that when God first describes Himself to Moses, the very first word He uses to talk about His character is “compassionate.” We then talk about the compassion of Jesus, of the early Church, and how our call - today in this world - is the same. Also, Dave gets a little too excited and sings some Four Tops. Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim
Elton Trueblood, a 20th-century author and theologian, once wrote, “A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.” His point is that we find deep meaning in our lives by giving our lives away. And part of the goal of the Here to Stay Campaign is to invite all who call WestGate Church home to give away our lives and church for the benefit of future generations. SPEAKERS: Jay Kim (Saratoga), Jay Kim (video South Hills) Bible Passage(s): Psalm 145:4-6, SPEAKERS: Jay Kim + Steve Clifford(Saratoga), Jay Kim (video South Hills)
We all stand on the shoulders of past generations. And if we slow down for even a moment, the impact of the people in our past on our present is nearly overwhelming. And personally, we all have people who have poured into us and sacrificed for our benefit. Especially as Christians. Jay and I reflect on Saints who have gone before us who have impacted us, on the difference between “results” and “faithfulness” and on how humans are more like trees than we’d like to admit. Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim
Every church has to answer the question “Why are we here?” For years, the short answer on that was that WestGate Church exists to be and to make disciples, learning and living the way of Jesus. Summarized in a word, the way of Jesus is LOVE—we exist to love God, one another, and our neighbors. But for the past few years, our leadership team and elders have been praying and asking God the question, “What does it mean to live this vision out faithfully, right here and right now?” And as we enter 2024, the particulars are becoming more clear. This message is the launch of the Here to Stay Campaign. Jay Kim and Steve Clifford explain the heart behind this campaign, and why it is WestGate’s prayerful commitment to be a church that’s truly here to stay…with God and for the good of all.” SPEAKERS: Jay Kim + Steve Clifford(Saratoga), Jay Kim (video South Hills)
At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, this past weekend was a big one for WestGate Church. We launched a massive campaign, called Here to Stay (the first in more than a decade) to raise $35 million. But even though this is the first weekend many people might have heard about it, it’s been in the works for years. Literally years. Jay Kim stops by to offer some behind-the-scenes info about how the vision for this campaign came from, why it’s not really about money at all, and why one of the driving forces behind the campaign are the values of “hospitality” and “kindness.” Speakers: David Tieche + Jay Kim
For Christians, the Bible isn’t nice to have, it’s vital. Central. Christians believe that the Bible is not just a book, but the divinely inspired Word of God, spoken for us, to lead us in the way of truth and love, down the path toward God’s glory and our good. But it isn’t about intellectual ascent; it’s about transformation. And we find, in the Bible, that the Word of God is referred to as a number of things: it’s bread (life-giving, necessary to our selves for life), a lamp (guides our path in a world that’s dark, a sword (protects us in a world where we’re under assault from lies that assail us) and a scalpel (it does surgery on us to heal us).
For Christians, the Bible isn’t nice to have, it’s vital. Central. Christians believe that the Bible is not just a book, but the divinely inspired Word of God, spoken for us, to lead us in the way of truth and love, down the path toward God’s glory and our good. But it isn’t about intellectual ascent; it’s about transformation. And we find, in the Bible, that the Word of God is referred to as a number of things: it’s bread (life-giving, necessary to our selves for life), a lamp (guides our path in a world that’s dark, a sword (protects us in a world where we’re under assault from lies that assail us) and a scalpel (it does surgery on us to heal us).
In Luke 15, Jesus tells one of His most famous series of stories, and starts by painting a stirring picture of the human condition. Jesus says that humanity is like a sheep that’s been lost. This isn’t an indictment on the sheep necessarily. It’s not that the sheep is bad. It’s that the sheep is bad off. Traditional Christian language is that we are hopelessly lost in our sin, which blinds us to our true condition and even to the reality that we even need an outside intervention from God. But as the story continues, Jesus reveals the most startling truth: that God is like a good shepherd, who leaves the 99 other sheep, and goes off into the night and dark to find that one sheep. This is very good news. SPEAKERS: Andy Gridley (Saratoga), David Tieche (South Hills)
Luke 15 is one of the most famous series of stories that Jesus tells, including one in which Jesus compares humanity to a sheep that is lost. The point of this story - that we are in trouble and need saving - grates at the central story that we modern people tell one another: that humanity is actually stunningly capable of solving nearly every problem that faces us. We aren’t sheep. We are capable. Strong! Smart! Andy Gridley stops by to talk about why Jesus uses this metaphor of sheep. We also trace this theme of God calling Himself a shepherd through the Scriptures - and find it everywhere. All in all, this conversation about sheep isn’t half baaaaaaad. Speakers: David Tieche + Andy Gridley
The 613 laws of the Old Testament are intended to remind us about who God is, and what kind of people He wants us to become. But they’re also there as a sobering reminder: there’s no way for us to keep all of them. Which means, there’s no way for any human to summon up the moral fortitude to earn a perfect score, and earn their way onto God’s good graces. This is beyond reach. And Biblically-speaking, Christmas is about the solution to this problem. Where SPEAKERS: Jay Kim (Saratoga), Andy Gridley (South Hills) Bible Passages): Galatians
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