AFTERWORD DESCRIPTION This past weekend, our church had the joy of learning from pastor/author/professor/theologian Dr. A.J. Swoboda, who not only spoke at our 2024 Formation Conference but also over the weekend at all our of campuses.David invites two of his friends (Ruth + David) by to share their insights and highlights from the weekend. They ch…

Today's follower of Jesus exists at a moment in history when our desires, longings, and wants are being weaponized against us by cultural, spiritual, and relational forces. "Follow your heart" and "You do you" has become our moment's mantras. The result, for too many, is feeling torn asunder by the raging desires within. What do we do with our desi…

Most stories are linear. Beginning. Middle. End. The opening pages of the Bible tell us a linear story - humans were meant to live with God, they rebelled and sinned - and then Death entered and humans lost everything. And if it weren’t for God, this is where the human story would end. Humanity’s biggest need is a solution to the problem of sin, de…

Well. Guys. We’re at the end. No, I’m not talking about the end of our Apostle’s Creed sermon series, but also the end of the 2024 Summer Olympics and summer itself. Jay and I chat about all of it, including Tom Cruise. We also get more serious and talk about the phrase “forgiveness of sins” and how unpopular of an idea it is that we even *need* fo…

AFTERWORD DESCRIPTION Miley Cyrus, in her song “Flowers” - the biggest hit of 2023 - told us that she didn’t need *anyone* else in her life to make her happy. Andy Gridley stops by to go back in time to traipse through all the “I am better off without you” empowerment songs from 1978 until today. Also, “I am better off alone!” might make for fun so…

In a world where a lot of people have doubts and suspicions (some quite fair and founded) about the Church, the Apostle’s Creed offers up a fascinating invitation “I believe in the holy Church and the Communion of Saints.” The invitation to deep, sacrificial, Jesus-centered friendship might not always be natural, or easy, but it’s central to our sp…

After the Apostle’s Creed talks about God the Father and Jesus, it turns to the third member of the Trinity – the Holy Spirit. But this can be confusing. Is the Holy Spirit an impersonal “force”? Is it a feeling? In this message, we examine the often-misunderstood Holy Spirit - how this member of the Trinity is talked about in Scripture, the role H…

AFTERWORD DESCRIPTION Hey kids! Let’s talk about hell and judgment! Archie Jackson and David Kim stop by to talk about why they each lost sleep trying to tackle the two most confusing clauses in the Apostle’s Creed - that Jesus “descended into hell” and that He will come back to “judge the living and the dead.” What does that mean? We talk about th…

Two of the most puzzling lines in the otherwise fairly straightforward text of the Apostle’s Creed is that Jesus died and then “descended into Hell” and that He will “judge the living and the dead.” These phrases are not only confusing, but also require some unpacking. What does it mean that Jesus went to hell? And what does it mean that he’ll judg…

AFTERWORD DESCRIPTION No one likes being bossed around. Even little kids will buck against it, saying things like, “You’re not the boss of me” or “You’re not my mom.” But the second line of the Apostle’s Creed says that Jesus is not only God, but the Apostles call him “Lord.” In a real way, they’re saying, “Jesus IS the boss of me.” David Kim stops…

The largest section of the Apostle’s Creed is about Jesus. In fact, roughly 65 percent of the words are about Jesus. It’s clear this creed is not about doctrine, but a person. And the second line of the creed has the Apostles saying that Jesus is their “Lord.” This means not only deep personal attachment to Jesus, but allegiance to Him and only Him…

AFTERWORD DESCRIPTION The second line of the Apostle’s Creed states (beautifully) that God is both powerful and a father. But what if your experience with both “father” has been anything but good? And what you’ve seen power abused, in tragic ways that have brought real suffering? Christina Papoulias stops by to talk about how toxic environments can…

In the second line of the Apostle’s Creed, it says “I believe in God the Father Almighty.” In the Scriptures, it’s clear that God not only has a deep, loving, tender Father’s heart, but *wants* to be known to us as Father. But for many people, bad examples from our earthly Fathers can distort our view of God Himself, forming an emotional blockade t…

The world - if anything - is pretty unstable. Not just geopolitically, or economically, but even personally. Our own lives are pretty unstable. And yet, in an unstable world, followers of Jesus stand on the sound and secure foundation of a story that has been unchanging since Christ’s resurrection and ascension. In a culture saturated by pundits, p…

AFTERWORD DESCRIPTION If someone were to ask you, “What do you believe?” you probably wouldn’t be able to answer. “What do I believe about what?” you might say. Or more often than that, we are busy with life, and don’t really even give that question much thought. But sometimes, life forces us to answer that important question. When the world falls …

There’s a lot of talk in our world about the “power of positive thinking” - and even secular scholars talk about the importance of spending time in gratitude each day. In Philippians 4, Paul talks about the power of what we think about - and how what we choose to focus on actually has an impact on how we experience life. Lisa Averill stops by to ta…

Lisa AverillBy Lisa Averill

In Philippians 3, Paul uses a phrase that at first blush seems quite inflammatory. He says that many people “live as enemies of the Cross of Christ” - a phrase which seems to create an “us” vs. “them” mentality. But this is reductionistic. The truth is, all of us have the choice to live like that. We do this when we lean on worldly wisdom over Godl…

It’s a pretty common rhetorical tactic these days - you can win an argument if you say that the other person is either 1. Just like Hitler or 2. Just like the anti-Christ. But in Philippians 3, Paul actually says that it’s possible to live as an enemy of the Cross of Christ. This is a serious charge. But what does it mean? Does it mean you don’t be…

In the book of Philippians, Paul uses a *very* strong word to make a dramatic theological point. In fact, many scholars think it was a vulgar word that meant “poop” or “filth.” Does that mean that we should act like immature junior high boys? Absolutely! Mark Averill stops by to talk with Dave about Paul’s dramatic language, why he chooses that wor…

Author David Foster Wallace once spoke about the gnawing sense that we live in a rat race searching for something that will give us meaning. And in the Bay Area, the answer to the question, “What do I need to feel okay about myself and life” is frequently answered with “achievement.” Although this might have looked different 2000 years ago, the Apo…

Janet Jackson once famously asked “what have you done for me lately?” And although the sentiment behind this sentence is vastly different, the Apostle Paul also employs this line of questioning to the Church of Philippi, encouraging them to truly examine - really meditate on - all that God has done for them. But, Paul says, that activity shouldn’t …

Midway through his letter, Paul encourages the young church family of believers at Philippi to “work out their salvation with fear and trembling.” This term “work out” can make us nervous. Is our salvation dependent upon how good of “work” we do? Because if so, uh oh! But Paul makes it clear that it’s God who does the work in us, through us and for…

You don’t have to be a sociologist to see that selfishness and self-centeredness seem to be the default setting for us humans. Left to ourselves, people (often) use other people for their own gain. Ruth Nazanin BetEivaz stops by to talk about Philippians 2 and Paul’s incredible passage about the staggering humility of Jesus. We chat about how humil…

The Silicon Valley is a place of chasing. Chasing success. Chasing more. Chasing upward movement. But this relentless pace can be utterly exhausting. In contrast to this, Paul says that Jesus provides a different model of what it means to be human and find life. And counterintuitively - Jesus shows us that true life is found not by climbing the lad…

As children of the 80s, things have changed *quite a bit* in the realm of civic politics for David and Jay. We chat about how changes in technology have shifted the way that people engage with politics - and how that’s not always for the better. We talk about what it means to follow Paul’s instructions in Philippians 1 to “live as citizens of the g…

When Paul was writing the letter to the church at Philippi, a man named Nero was Caesar. Nero’s favorite titles were “Lord” and “Savior” and his demands of allegiance were total. To declare any other emperor (or king) as lord or savior was dangerous. But that’s exactly what Paul goes all around the empire doing. And Paul’s message to the Philippian…

Hey! It’s a gift from God that no one in their right mind wants! Suffering! Join David Tieche and David Kim as they dive into the Biblical theme of suffering, both in the life of Jesus and in perhaps the most famous Biblical story of suffering: Job. The “Davids” talk about why we run from suffering (and the common ways we do so) and why suffering i…

If there’s one certainty in life, it’s that disease, death and disappointment will visit you. And yet, nobody wants to hear that. Let alone deal with that reality. Our secular world - whose consumerist culture screams messages that the goal of life is comfort and pleasure - is simply *terrible* at helping us cope with pain and suffering. In the mid…

Joy isn’t just the main character in Pixar’s 2015 animated classic INSIDE OUT. It’s also what we long for, and often, something we feel is deeply missing in our day-to-day life. Can our lives really be infused with joy no matter what our circumstances? How can we get joy? Does it require conditions to be perfect? And why is it so elusive? Jay Kim s…

Life is not easy. Especially not in the Bay Area. And if we’re honest, the stresses of daily life - especially here in Silicon Valley - can not just overwhelm us, but trap us in the doldrums of malaise. So we increase the amount of entertainment or stimulation in an attempt to feel something - but this can have the reverse effect on us: making us n…

In our modern world that elevates individualism, a truth that often goes entirely missing is just how much our lives can impact other people. We affect one another far more than we’d like to admit. And the modern mantra of “privatism” which says “mind your own business and don’t interfere with other people and the way they choose to live their live…

Truly complex problems require us to be people committed to both patient love (grace) but also making sure that we arrive at the correct answer (truth). This is difficult, but the alternative is not good. As author Randy Alcorn once wrote, “Truth without grace breeds self-righteous legalism…grace without truth breeds moral indifference.” But in the…

Naseem Khalili joins David Tieche for a fun and lively discussion about singleness, desire and what to do when life doesn’t work out like you’d dreamed. We talk about how unfulfilled longings can lead to deep disappointment with life - and even with God. We talk about how the Psalms of Lament can help pave the way for healing. And Naseem shares som…

Being single in a world that idolizes romantic love - and often sends messages that life really only begins once you’ve met your soulmate - can often make navigating this season of life challenging. And the fact is, whether you’re single or not - having unmet or unrealizead dreams and desires is painful. And the longer you’re in longing, the more d…

Our guest, Joshua Ryan Butler, joins David Tieche for a frank and pointed discussion about sex and gender featuring questions from our congregation. If the Creation story shows how the pairing of male and female (marriage) reflects the intended whole of Creation, then what do single people reflect? Are they incomplete? A sun without a moon? If ever…

In recent years, the question of gender and biological sex - not someone’s sexuality or sexual attraction but a person’s internal sense of self and the social expression of that - has become a cultural flashpoint. What does it mean to be “male” or “female”? Is it fixed, or chosen by an individual? Does a person’s biological sex even matter? And wha…

The Christian sexual ethic has historically been one of the more contentious and contested ideas in our cultural moment. What does the Bible actually say about sex? How is it the same as what our culture says, and how is it different? Is sex really reserved only for straight, married couples? If so, what does this mean for those folks who are teens…

There’s no topic more confusing or contested in our culture than the topic of sexuality. This week, Jay Kim joins David Tieche to dive in. Sexuality is obviously a part of what it means to be human, but how big a part of our identity should it be? What are some ways that Christians talk about sex and sexuality that are reductionist, or incomplete o…

This week starts the beginning of our five-week series called Wonderfully Made, which WestGate Church is doing in coordination with several other Bay Area churches. In this week’s episode of The AfterWord, Jay Kim (lead pastor of WestGate Church), Filipe Santos (lead pastor of Echo Church) and Phil Eubank (lead pastor of Menlo Church) talk about th…

There is a common misunderstanding today, even among Christians, that human beings are primarily souls who happen to have bodies. Or, go to any gym and you’ll see contradictory messages of both idolizing the body AND simultaneous hatred of the body. Sometimes in the same person! But the Biblical story makes clear that from the beginning, to be huma…

The Ancient Greeks and Romans told stories of ambrosia, the mythical food of the gods that granted immortality to all who ate it. And we modern folk are obsessed with bio-hacking our bodies and diets, for the sake of longevity. But while the ancients wanted to defy death, and we Bay Area folks want to delay it, the story of Jesus is how one person …

As Jesus is dying on the Cross, He yells out “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” This is one of the more famous sayings of Jesus, if only because of the anguish behind it. Is God forsaking Jesus? How can that be? This is no mere physical death: this death is also a separation from Himself - a tearing apart of Jesus’ eternal identity. But Je…

After Jesus dies, Matthew writes that the curtain in the temple was torn, a detail he finds incredibly significant, but which might seem bizarre to us. What’s up with this curtain? Why is God ripping it up? Is God upset at His interior decoratingand design? What’s going on? Jay Kim stops by to chat about the implications of this moment in Matthew 2…

Author and researcher Brené Brown defined shame as “the intensely painful feeling of being unworthy of love or belonging.” There are not *some* people who deal with feelings of shame and others who escape this. We *all* deal with this. David Kim stops by to form an-all-David podcast in which we talk about how shame shows up in our lives, how it’s t…

One of the most famous parts of the story of Jesus’ death is that His friends completely fail Him. Most famously, Jesus’ lead disciple, Peter, makes a valiant pledge that he would never deny Jesus, and then, mere hours later, does exactly that three times. There’s much to this story. Matthew is showing us that we all overestimate our own goodness. …

Matthew’s account of Jesus sweating blood in anxiety in the Garden of Gethsemane is an exceptional detail and a stunning moment. Newly minted Pastor Emeritus Steve Clifford stops by to talk about this exceptional passage, what it reveals about Jesus’s interior life with God, how Jesus’s moment is different than ours, and how it’s the same, and what…

On the night before He was killed, Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane. There we find Jesus distraught and more anxious than He has ever been. He is experiencing deep, agonizing grief and anxiety. But facing a brutal death isn’t the only thing happening - Jesus is going to pay for and bear the weight of humanity’s sin. And yet, in the midst of an…

The Last Supper is one of the more important moments in the story of Jesus, memorialized not only in art but also in the life of the church (through the taking of communion). But familiarity sometimes is our enemy of seeing things clearly - and often, we don’t take the time to listen or reflect on not only what Jesus was saying to His disciples at …

The Gospels tell us that Jesus “came to seek and save the lost” - but then later on also tell us that He came “eating and drinking.” Meals play a big role through the story not only of Jesus, but the whole Bible. So why is that? Is God a foodie? Or is there something more going on. Mark Averill stops by to chat with David about the transformative p…