Shows
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchDeborahJune 22. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Judges 4:1-16 |2025-06-2329 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchRahabJune 15. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Joshua 1:1-15 |2025-06-1629 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchHagarJune 1. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Genesis 16:1-16 |2025-06-0231 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchJesus' CommencementMay 25. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Acts 1:1-11 |2025-05-2633 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchPeace Be With YouMay 4. 2025 | Walter Henegar | John 20:19-31 |2025-05-0534 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchThe Wise LifeApril 20. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 7:24- 8:1 |2025-04-2127 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchBad ReligionApril 13. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 7:15-23 |2025-04-1427 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchTwo Rules and Two WaysApril 06. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 7:12-14 |2025-04-0728 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchJudge Not, You PigMar 23. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 7:1-6 |2025-03-2430 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWe Of Little FaithMar 23. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 1:1-6 |2025-03-1730 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchForever TreasuresMar 09. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 6:7-15 |2025-03-1030 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWhy Want To PrayMar 02. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 6:7-15 |2025-03-0335 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchSecret RewardFeb 23. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 6:1-4, 16-18 |2025-02-2531 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchThe Weight Of Your WordsFeb 09. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 5:33-37 |2025-02-1033 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchRelational WholenessFeb 02. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 5:27-32 |2025-02-0332 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchGood And AngryJan 26. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 5:21-26 |2025-01-2735 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchThe Living LawJan 19. 2024 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 5:17-20 | 2025-01-2131 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchStay SaltyJan 12. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 5:13-16 |2025-01-1425 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchThe Upside of Living DownJan 05. 2025 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 5:1-12 |2025-01-0730 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchA Place For YouDec 22. 2024 | Walter Henegar | John 14:1-7 |2024-12-2329 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWhy Wait UpDec 15. 2024 | Walter Henegar | Luke 12:35-40 |2024-12-1728 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchLord Of The VineDec 01. 2024 | Walter Henegar | Mark 12:1-12 |2024-12-0233 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchHis MinistryNov 22. 2024 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 4:12-25 |2024-11-2531 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchHis TemptationNov 17. 2024 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 4:1-11 |2024-11-1927 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchHis BaptismNov 10. 2024 | Walter Henegar | Matthew 3:13-17 |2024-11-1124 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchThe Case for ConscienceOct 27. 2024 | Walter Henegar | Romans 14:1-23 |2024-10-2928 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchOur Debt To AuthorityOct 20. 2024 | Walter Henegar | Romans 13:1-14 |2024-10-2332 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchPublic LoveOct 13. 2024 | Walter Henegar | Romans 12:9-21 | Christians should be known for their love, both in private and in public. In Romans 12, this love is characterized by humility, hospitality and hope. Loving our "enemies," including our political enemies, is impossible without the Gospel of Jesus.2024-10-1429 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchEnemies Of The CrossSep 22, 2024 | Walter Henegar | Philippians 3:12-4:1 |2024-09-2334 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchThe No-Excuses ChurchSep 15, 2024 | Walter Henegar | Romans 2:1-6 |2024-09-1634 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchThe So-Loved WorldSep 8. 2024 | Walter Henegar | John 3:1-21 | Healthy public faith begins with a clear understanding of what the Church is and how God intends for it to relate to the World.2024-09-1129 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchRevive Us Again - Psalm 85Sep 1, 2024 | Walter Henegar | Psalm 85 |2024-09-1129 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchRejoice in ThisJesus draws a contrast between the intoxicating agony of ministry and the helpless wonder of salvation. It's not wrong to rejoice that Jesus is pleased to channel his power through us, but it is infinitely more awesome that he saves us at all. Ironically, those who rejoice in their salvation above all become more effective channels of his power. Walter preached this sermon for the opening worship service of Metro Atlanta Presbytery. 2024-05-0722 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchRejoice in This Jesus draws a contrast between the intoxicating agony of ministry and the helpless wonder of salvation. It's not wrong to rejoice that Jesus is pleased to channel his power through us, but it is infinitely more awesome that he saves us at all. Ironically, those who rejoice in their salvation above all become more effective channels of his power. Walter preached this sermon for the opening worship service of Metro Atlanta Presbytery. 2024-05-0722 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchBroken BrotherhoodThe story of Cain and Abel shows us ourselves, and more important, it shows us the heart of God:· We are stubbornly independent from God, but God is stubbornly interested in us· We are half-hearted toward him, but he is relentless in pursuing us· We are envious of others, but he is curious about us· We are vulnerable to sin’s sneak attacks, but he is powerful to fight with and for us· We are murderous, but he is just, making sure sin is paid for· We are self-pitying, but God is mercifulWalter's...2023-09-1033 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchBroken Brotherhood The story of Cain and Abel shows us ourselves, and more important, it shows us the heart of God:· We are stubbornly independent from God, but God is stubbornly interested in us· We are half-hearted toward him, but he is relentless in pursuing us· We are envious of others, but he is curious about us· We are vulnerable to sin’s sneak attacks, but he is powerful to fight with and for us· We are murderous, but he is just, making sure sin is paid for· We are self-pitying, but God is mercifulWalter's...2023-09-1033 min
Serenbe StoriesBuilding Genuine Connection & Stewarding Healthy Growth with Anne & Walter HenegarAnne and Walter Henegar started making regular visits to Serenbe in 2008 and purchased their Mado townhome ten years later, becoming beloved part-time residents. So beloved, in fact, that many neighbors don’t even realize that they aren’t here full-time. When the Henegars aren’t in Serenbe, they’re up in Atlanta running Westside Presbyterian Church - Walter as Senior Pastor and Anne as Director of Spiritual Formation - with a vision to build community and connection in one of Atlanta’s most racially and economically stratified neighborhoods. In this conversation, Steve and Monica learn more about what led bo...2023-07-1031 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchServe the Lord Christ Sometimes we follow, sometimes we lead;in every relationship, Jesus is King.United to him in his death and his life,we build up all others, and him glorify. Resources:Westminster Larger Catechism, questions 123-133PCA Report on Domestic Abuse and Sexual AssaultWalter’s August 2022 Sermon on Ephesians 6:1-9 2023-06-0435 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchServe the Lord ChristSometimes we follow, sometimes we lead;in every relationship, Jesus is King.United to him in his death and his life,we build up all others, and him glorify. Resources:Westminster Larger Catechism, questions 123-133PCA Report on Domestic Abuse and Sexual AssaultWalter’s August 2022 Sermon on Ephesians 6:1-92023-06-0435 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchThe Equal Eye Walter Henegar preached this sermon on Matthew 7:1-6 2021-10-0336 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchThe Equal EyeWalter Henegar preached this sermon on Matthew 7:1-62021-10-0336 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchLove Walter Henegar completes our series on 2 Peter 1:1-11 2021-09-1233 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchLoveWalter Henegar completes our series on 2 Peter 1:1-112021-09-1233 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchBrotherly AffectionWalter Henegar on 2 Peter 1:1-112021-09-0533 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchBrotherly Affection Walter Henegar on 2 Peter 1:1-11 2021-09-0533 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchGodliness Walter Henegar on 2 Peter 1:1-11 2021-08-2932 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchGodlinessWalter Henegar on 2 Peter 1:1-112021-08-2932 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchSteadfastness Walter Henegar on 2 Peter 1:1-11 2021-08-2235 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchSteadfastnessWalter Henegar on 2 Peter 1:1-112021-08-2235 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchSelf Control Walter Henegar on 2 Peter 1:1-11 2021-08-1535 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchSelf ControlWalter Henegar on 2 Peter 1:1-112021-08-1535 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchKnowledge Walter Henegar on 2 Peter 1:1-11 2021-08-0834 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchKnowledgeWalter Henegar on 2 Peter 1:1-112021-08-0834 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchVirtue Walter Henegar on 2 Peter 1:1-11 2021-08-0130 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchVirtueWalter Henegar on 2 Peter 1:1-112021-08-0130 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchHis Hand and His Face Aaron's stunning benediction reminds us that God's heart is to bless us. The blessings from his hand are positive circumstances of provision, protection and peace. The blessing of his face is his gracious presence with us, lit with delight and lifted in attention. Knowing how the two relate is essential to Christian growth, and the Gospel of Jesus is the key. When we seek first the blessing of his face, the blessings of his hand grow sweeter. But when we seek first the blessings of his hand, they fail to satisfy, and we grow distant from him. God’s fa...2020-09-0628 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchSatan Satan is the deceiver, the accuser, and the tempter, but Jesus is our teacher, our defender, and our savior. 2020-08-3031 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchBusyness Busyness is a malaise that affects us all in different ways. Growing in this area of life is a group project that requires multiple sources of wisdom applied in community over a long period of time. At root, we need to see ourselves the way God sees us: as his beloved agents in the world. 2020-08-2324 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchDenominations Acts 15 doesn't tell us which denomination to join, but it does give us a melody we should hear in every church and denomination. The three main "chords" of this melody answer the questions: What are they guarding? Where do they appeal? and How do they decide? Ultimately every church should guard the unity that Jesus creates in the Gospel; we should submit our interpretations of tradition and experience to scripture; and we should seek to make decisions with humility and an eagerness to sacrifice for the sake of unity. 2020-08-1632 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchTribalism Tribes can bind us together, but they can also blind us to the beauty of the Gospel. Judges 12 illustrates what happens when the normal human desire to belong warps into sinful self-protection and other-harming tribalism. We use “shibboleths” to actively or passively exclude people from our circle of trust. In today’s polarized climate, tribalism also cuts us off from learning ways that we may be wrong and ways others might be right. Jesus, it turns out, was also a repeated victim of tribalist judgments, but he refused to judge people through a tribalist lens. Christians who have been forgiv...2020-08-0934 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchHoly Sex The Bible's view of sexuality is grounded in the Gospel. The heart of sex is a reflection of the permanent, exclusive, covenant that God makes with all who are united to Christ by faith. The revolution of sex is the way the Gospel invariably pulls against parts of the dominant cultural narrative. The power of sex is its ability to either domineer and waste our energy in unfruitful ways – or to deepen the bond of marital love. The weakness of sex is its temporary character in light of eternity and the way its blessings inevitably require sacrifice and "deaths" on...2020-07-2639 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchPatience in Suffering Discipleship Administrator Abrm McQuarters preached this sermon on James 5:7-12. 2020-07-1925 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchFrom Fear to Faith Elder Byron Johnson preached the sermon on Psalm 46:1-3. 2020-07-1230 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchThe Conscience of Class One of the most significant and yet least-talked-about factors in every other controversial national issue right now is class. Whether James is addressing nonbelievers or believers, none of us is immune from the temptations to hoard, exploit, live self-indulgently, and participate in injustice. More important, Jesus frees us from the reasons we tend to seek wealth, which all inevitably backfire. His Gospel gives us an expansive family to belong to, an eternal security that no amount of money can provide, and a righteousness that cannot be measured in dollars and cents. 2020-07-0532 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchEvery Life in His Hands Few issues stir more passionate and politically charged debate than abortion. Job reminds us that suffering lies behind it, pushing Christians to respond in ways that demonstrate both grace and truth. The way of Jesus, we find, is characterized by handmade compassion, handmade redemption and handmade engagement in the political sphere. Ultimately, Christians must demonstrate our confidence in God as creator by actively loving, in both word and deed, every person made in his image, both born and unborn. 2020-06-2830 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchSurrender of the Sexes Men and women have more in common than we have different, starting with the Gospel that saves us all by grace through faith. We also have differences created by God. How we exercise our differences in the church calls for much wisdom and discernment, deconstructing false interpretations as much as reconstructing faithful ones. Ultimately, every aspect of our unique identities are tools for loving God by serving one another. 2020-06-2129 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchGenerous Exclusivity The Christian faith makes exclusive truth claims, and so does every other view of the world. This fact raises several challenging problems, yet we find that the Bible's claims are both necessary and glorious, enabling Christians to relate to the world in a humble, generous, teachable way. 2020-06-1431 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchThe Politics of Prayer The Gospel of Jesus compels Christians to engage in politics. At minimum, we must pray for all people, especially our political leaders. This affects the peace of society, and the way Christians live together in it. Both of these realities play an important role in how God saves and sanctifies people. And while first-century Christians had no influence over who their political leaders were, twenty-first century American Christians do. Therefore we must not only pray for our existing leaders but also seek God’s wisdom in which ones we vote for. Beyond that, we have freedom to serve according to...2020-06-0734 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchSome Good News God wants you to know that you are okay, you can change, and you will be everything you were made to be, all because of Jesus. 2020-05-3120 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWait For the Lord Misdirected desires can cause anxiety, but gazing at Jesus can change us. We can have confidence in God’s plan, even when we suffer. This confidence comes when our greatest desire is intimate relationship with God. God invites us to seek him and wrestle with Him. When we wait for the Lord and believe God’s promises, we will have real hope and strength. 2020-05-2421 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchHeaven Helps Us Christians’ ultimate hope is not going to heaven, but heaven coming to us. Peter explains why this “new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells” (v. 13) has not arrived yet, why the world must be refined by fire, and how we are to live while we wait. Other parts of scripture reassure us that those who have died in faith are present with Jesus now in the “intermediate state,” but even they still wait eagerly for the fullness of the resurrection. 2020-05-1724 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWhen Seeing Isn’t Believing Former Westside attender Michael Gregory, now planting a church in Los Angeles, shared this message from Psalm 17. 2020-05-1017 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchChildlike Covid-19 (and many other circumstances) leave us feeling small and childlike. Our tendency is to want to despise feelings of smallness and to move toward places of competency, achievement, and status. But Jesus shows his disciples that the only way into the kingdom of heaven is through childlikeness, and ultimately, it is also the only way to grow into maturity in his kingdom. Jesus himself has not despised childlikeness, but became a child who grew in stature and maturity in order that he might die for our sakes. Our relationship with God the Father is our only relationship where...2020-05-0323 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWhy Are You Persecuting Me? The conversion of Saul was dramatic, but it illustrates three universal features of believing in Jesus. Whether we are trusting him for the first time or the millionth, we must experience these three “flashes”: recognizing ourselves, confronting the person of Jesus, and learning dependence. As we do, Jesus transforms us from self-blind, self-righteous law-chasers to self-aware, humble, curious people who increasingly love others like Jesus. 2020-04-2623 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWhy Do Doubts Arise In Your Hearts? Luke’s account of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearance on Easter Sunday evening demonstrates the complex nature of faith. Rather than giving us a simple factoid to believe or reject, Jesus invites us into a whole-person process of coming to accept reality and living into it. This process includes at least six stages: Evidence, Personal trust, an Opened Mind, a Story, a Role to Play, and Power. Together, they help us to “practice resurrection” in a dynamic relationship with him. 2020-04-1927 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchHe Has Provided (Good Friday 2020) Tomo Ito, our soon-to-be-graduated seminarian and volunteer coordinator, preached this powerful message connecting Abraham's offering of Isaac on Mount Moriah with God the Father's offering of Jesus on Good Friday. 2020-04-1222 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWhy Are You Weeping? Jesus’ question to Mary Magdalene gently challenges her to align her internal sense of reality with the new reality of his resurrection. The Gospels bear witness to this claim in a way that’s uniquely persuasive. Because Jesus ascended to the Father, he has inaugurated the Kingdom of God – the new world where Cosmic Spring is always breaking through until he returns. And because he calls us “brothers” (and sisters), we can join his family purely by grace, enjoying his constant presence through his Holy Spirit. All of these blessings come to those who personally trust him, like Mary did, as ou...2020-04-1224 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchDo You Understand What I Have Done to You? Jesus’ question in v. 12 invites us to consider why he washed his disciples’ feet. We can discern at least three reasons: First and most obviously, so we will wash each others’ feet in humble acts of service. Right now, doing this wisely requires creativity! Second and most importantly, so we will know our own need to be spiritually cleansed by faith in Jesus’ finished work on the cross. As Peter learned in vs. 8-11, only those who are “washed” by Jesus have any share in him. Third and most practically, so we will continue applying the finished work of Jesus to our...2020-04-0525 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchDo You Think I Have Come to Bring Peace? Following Jesus creates temporary division until he brings permanent peace. Jesus was separated through a baptism of fire so that we could be Included through a baptism of water. Ultimately, Jesus divides humanity into those who are united to him by faith and those who aren’t. Counterintuitively, this positions Christians to be “us-for-them,” or even “us-for-those-who-are-against-us.” Through the power of Jesus working in us, we can share our faith, serve sacrificially and resolve conflict in healthy ways. 2020-03-2921 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWill the Son of Man Find Faith on Earth? Jesus' parable about a persistent widow is not about bugging God till he begrudgingly gives us what we want. It's about praying when we feel helpless, binding us to the heart of God, and liberating us both to cry out to him and to join him in his redeeming work. 2020-03-2225 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchThis is a Test Every "desert" season of uncertainty is ultimately a test of our trust in the Lord. This short homily was preached in our first-ever only-livestream worship service, in response to the worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus COVID-19. 2020-03-1515 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWho Touched Me? When Jesus heals people, it’s always about more than healing. The simple question that punctuates this scene – Who touched me? – reveals his compassion for both the hurting and the hurried. More than healing the bleeding woman, Jesus’ words affirm the value of her faith, and confirm her peace with God, and signal to the town that she is no longer to be treated like an outcast. Jesus calls her “Daughter” because what she needs above all else is a clear-eyed relationship with him, which can only be secured by his cross. The hurried disciples, on the other hand, are so eager...2020-03-0828 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWhat Is This Generation Like? Jesus knows that it can be hard for us to trust him, just like people did when John the Baptist got thrown in prison. On top of that, every generation or age has its own unique distortions of reality, bullying dissenters while blind to its own contradictions. To help us navigate these challenges, Jesus gives us two simple, interlocking tests: 1) Is there consistency between how a person lives and the message they profess to believe?2) Is there consistency between the message they believe and the way things actually are?When all three are consistent with each...2020-03-0135 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchHow Can I Give You Up? After hundreds of years of persistent unfaithfulness to God, the Israelites were finally reaping the consequences of their actions—exile is imminent. Even so, the Lord did not abandon his people, but redeemed them and pursued them. He does the same with us: we are betraying him every time we sin, but he keeps loving us anyway. Because God’s heart for his people is unchanging, we never have to wonder how God feels about us, even when we don’t feel good about ourselves. His never-stopping, never-giving-up, unbreaking, always-and-forever love is for us, because of Jesus. 2020-02-2339 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWhat Are You Doing Here? Elijah’s moment of despair illustrates how God relates to us when we do the right thing but things still go wrong. He does not rebuke Elijah but leads him with gentleness and compassion, ministering to Elijah’s physical exhaustion with sleep and bread and water. And when Elijah begins to doubt the effectiveness of God’s Word, God gives him a special manifestation of his word in the form of a “low whisper.” Then God gives him a new job to do that will enlist the help of others, including a pagan king and his own soon-to-be successor, Elisha. Fi...2020-02-1634 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchYour Kingdom Come 2020-02-0935 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchHow Have I Wearied You? When our relationship with God goes sideways, God pursues us to repair it. In the 8th century BC, God sent the prophet Micah to Israelites who had grown spiritually complacent, economically corrupt and socially unjust. Micah’s “covenant lawsuit” called them to clear the air, review the facts, stop bargaining, and sync with the heart of God. 2020-02-0235 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWhere Were You? The book of Job is not just about why bad things happen to good people, but about how to trust God in a world where all kinds of things happen that we don’t understand. By asking Job dozens of questions, God presses Job to recognize the natural limits of his own understanding and the necessity of trusting him. Yet instead of making Job smaller, this dependence actually expands his dignity and his capacity to engage in God’s world. The paradox of Job is just one example of the paradox of the Gospel: We are utterly incapable of savi...2020-01-2635 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWho Are These People With You? The strange story of Balaam illustrates four vital principles for how those who trust in God should relate to those who don’t: 1) People change people. For good or ill, the people we spend the most time around will inevitably shape our perception of what is possible, desirable or good. 2) If you belong to Jesus, you are blessed – but only because of grace. Balaam’s prophecies and their fulfillment in Jesus mark the life of every Christian as fundamentally blessed.3) Total isolation from “the world” is not only impossible; it’s ungodly. God calls his people to be distin...2020-01-1934 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWho Made Your Mouth? God asks Moses, “Who made your mouth?” to shift his focus from his own limited self-knowledge to God’s own powerful knowing. And so we also see that God knows our story, because he’s the one writing it. We see that God knows our capacity, because he made us and is with us. And we see that God knows our frame, because he is does not leave us alone. All this is only possible because of Jesus, the Greater Moses, who experienced every hardship we do, and much worse, in order to lead us to God’s eternal Promised L2020-01-1234 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWhere Are You? The first question God asks humanity is still the central question for all of us: Where are you? – that is, Where are you in relation to God? To help us answer it, God asks three more questions. The second, Who told you that you were naked? invites us to consider what other voices we are listening to to define reality, other than God’s? We can never silence those voices, but we can pursue habits and practices that make God’s voice loudest in our lives. The third and fourth questions are similar, asking Adam and Eve to admit their...2020-01-0535 min
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchYour Family The incarnation of Jesus transforms our experience of Given Family, adopts us into his Eternal Family, and challenges us to build an ever-changing Pilgrim Family along the way. Your Given Family is the family you grew up in, whether biological, adopted or otherwise. Your Forever Family is the family of God, into which you were adopted through faith in Jesus, and with whom you will spend eternity. Your Pilgrim Family are your believing friends who walk through life with you until Jesus returns. Every Christian needs to find Pilgrim Family members through our various stages of life, and the...2019-12-2236 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchYour Stuff Christians should enjoy stuff more than anyone else in the world, because Jesus shows us the heart of the One who made it all. At the same time, we should distrust stuff more than anyone else, because Jesus showed us what our hearts are capable of doing with it. We enjoy stuff by receiving it as an undeserved gift from the God who made it and by sharing it with others who don’t deserve it, either. We distrust stuff by remembering that it will always fail us and deceive us and divide us in this world, but it wi...2019-12-1533 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchYour Body Your body is very good because God made it, Jesus has one, and the Holy Spirit lives there. It’s easy for us to live under a spiritualized worldview—like it’s only the spiritual things that are really good and important to God. But since he is the Good Creator, all of creation, all of this physical stuff, is infused with his goodness. Even though that goodness is damaged by sin, God still cares about his creation and is in the process of redeeming it for himself. When he himself took on a body as the God-Ma...2019-12-0137 min
The Very Good PodcastThe Spirit of Atlanta Westside. w/ Walter Henegar, Anne Henegar, and Julia Reynolds.Presenting 'The Very Good Podcast' from Atlanta Westside Presbyterian Church!
In our first episode, dive into the history of Atlanta Westside with Senior Pastor Walter Henegar, Director of Discipleship Anne Henegar, and guest interviewer (and Westside member) Julia Reynolds. 2019-12-011h 01
Atlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchThe Marks of Jesus What distinguishes the true Gospel from false gospels, and faithful messengers from false prophets, is the cross of Jesus. Just as Paul bears the “marks of Jesus” (v. 17) in the scars on his physical body, so Christians today ought to bear evidence of the death-and-resurrection pattern in our lives. Two ways to uncover the real patterns in our lives are to ask: Whose opinions matter most to us? and What do we want for other people? When we have been “crucified to the world” and vice-versa (v. 14), we are free to value Jesus’ opinion of us over all others, and to ser...2019-11-2431 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchDivine Timing Believers saved by grace through faith in Jesus have the power of the Holy Spirit to help us grow in actively bearing each others’ burdens. Because God has ordered the world so that we generally “reap what we sow,” he challenges us in at least three specific ways:1. You should make a habit of helping people carry their burdens, no matter who they are or what they believe, but the category of people whose burdens you should carry most are fellow Christians. 2. If you are not giving at least some of your time and some of your money...2019-11-1735 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchWise Love Christians justified by faith in Jesus are no longer under the burden of law-keeping, but we are called to fulfill the “law of Christ” – that is, to love one another the way Jesus loves us. To do this, we must recognize the difference between a burden (v. 2) and a load (v. 4). A burden is too heavy to carry alone, whereas a load is a reasonable personal responsibility that must be carried alone. Loving wisely begins by soberly assessing our own weaknesses and vulnerability to temptation. This humble self-awareness teaches us to carry our own load, and to refuse to carry...2019-11-1034 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchYour Fight for Fruit The Christian life is a fight between the desires of what Paul calls the “flesh,” or the sinful nature, and the desires of the Spirit. The desires of the flesh automatically produce ugly “works,” like fungus, that dominate and divide us. The desires of the Spirit, on the other hand, draw out beautiful fruits of character that pull people together in relationship. If you are a Christian, the Spirit in you is “the real you,” and your flesh is a persistent but mortally wounded foe. Jesus has already nailed your sin to his cross; now he invites you to actively cru...2019-11-0334 minAtlanta Westside Presbyterian ChurchThe Mother of All Freedom Faith in Jesus rewrites our family tree, making spiritual freedom not only our inheritance but our birthright. Apparently the Judaizing Christians in Galatia were claiming to be the “real deal” because they descended from Abraham and Sarah. Actually, says Paul, those who try to earn God’s favor by keeping the law are not children of the free woman (Sarah), but of the slave woman (Hagar). As a result, even first-century Jerusalem had become a center of spiritual slavery! The Gospel, however, grafts everyone who believes into the true family of God. This means our spiritual family is way cooler...2019-10-2034 min