Life on the West Side

Every family tree has some nuts and squirrels up in there. Maybe, for whatever reason, you blush when you think about your family tree. Jesus certainly could have. The list given in Matthew 1 is not the guest list you would have imagined. And yet…each lived story became part of a tapestry leading to Christ. The sermon today is titled "Blessing Up." Originally preached on Mother's Day at West Side Church of Christ [https://www.wschurch.net/] (Searcy, AR) on May 11, 2025. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under GROW: Families & Relationships [https://nathanguy.com/sermons/?sermon_topics=grow-relationships]. Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript. [https://nathanguy.com/sermons/blessing-up-2/] Podcast Notes (resources used or referenced): * Sermon by Michael Krueger, “Your Family Tree, [https://christcovenant.org/sermons/your-family-tree/]” Christ Covenant Church (July 21, 2019) * Max Lucado, When God Whispers Your Name.  I'd love to connect with you! * Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com [https://nathanguy.com/]. * Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream [https://www.youtube.com/c/WestSideChurchofChristSearcy] and find a study guide on the sermon notes page [https://nathanguy.com/sermon-notes]. * Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook [https://www.facebook.com/nathan.guy.7965]/instagram [https://instagram.com/nathanpguy]/twitter [https://twitter.com/nathanpguy]) * Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack [https://nathanguy.substack.com/].

What are some reasons to be filled with hope? Let the book of 1 John answer this. The sermon today is titled "Hope From 1 John." The Scripture reading is from 1 John 5:13 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%205%3A13&version=ESV] (ESV). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ [https://www.wschurch.net/](Searcy, AR) on May 4, 2025. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under BEGIN: A Peaceful Assurance [https://nathanguy.com/sermons/?sermon_topics=begin-assurance]. Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript. [https://nathanguy.com/sermons/hope-from-1-john/] I'd love to connect with you! * Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com [https://nathanguy.com/]. * Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream [https://www.youtube.com/c/WestSideChurchofChristSearcy] and find a study guide on the sermon notes page [https://nathanguy.com/sermon-notes]. * Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook [https://www.facebook.com/nathan.guy.7965]/instagram [https://instagram.com/nathanpguy]/twitter [https://twitter.com/nathanpguy]) * Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack [https://nathanguy.substack.com/].

We rise from a grave in our baptism. When we rise, what do we leave behind? Let the Easter story speak into this. The sermon today is titled "Resurrection Sunday." The Scripture reading is from Romans 6:1-11 [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%206%3A1-11&version=MSG] (MSG). Originally preached at the West Side Church of Christ [https://www.wschurch.net/](Searcy, AR) on April 20, 2025. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under BEGIN: A Loving Christ [https://nathanguy.com/sermons/?sermon_topics=begin-christ] and DISCOVER: A New Reality [https://nathanguy.com/sermons/?sermon_topics=discover-reality]. Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript. [https://nathanguy.com/sermons/resurrection-sunday/] I'd love to connect with you! * Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com [https://nathanguy.com/]. * Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream [https://www.youtube.com/c/WestSideChurchofChristSearcy] and find a study guide on the sermon notes page [https://nathanguy.com/sermon-notes]. * Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook [https://www.facebook.com/nathan.guy.7965]/instagram [https://instagram.com/nathanpguy]/twitter [https://twitter.com/nathanpguy]) * Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack [https://nathanguy.substack.com/].

How can we live out the prayer of Jesus for unity in John 17? The sermon today is titled "Let Them Be One." Originally preached as a guest sermon at the Pleasant Valley Church of Christ [https://www.pvcc.org/] (Little Rock, AR) on December 1, 2024. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under DISCOVER: A New Community [https://nathanguy.com/sermons/?sermon_topics=discover-community]. Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript. [https://nathanguy.com/sermons/let-them-be-one/] Podcast Notes (resources used or referenced): * Sermon by Sam Wells, "You Belong To Me [https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/you-belong-to-me/]." St. Martin-in-the-Fields, May 12, 2024. * Sermon by Bishop Robert Barron, "Pentecost and the Tower of Babel [https://www.wordonfire.org/videos/sermons/pentecost-and-the-tower-of-babel/]." June 4, 2006. I'd love to connect with you! * Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com [https://nathanguy.com/]. * Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream [https://www.youtube.com/c/WestSideChurchofChristSearcy] and find a study guide on the sermon notes page [https://nathanguy.com/sermon-notes]. * Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook [https://www.facebook.com/nathan.guy.7965]/instagram [https://instagram.com/nathanpguy]/twitter [https://twitter.com/nathanpguy]) * Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack [https://nathanguy.substack.com/].

What made the early church so compelling? What were the practical ethics of early Christian practice? What would it look like to restore our radical witness? The lecture today is titled "Ethics, Human Dignity, and Christian Orthodoxy." Originally given at the Remission Connect Conference [https://www.remissionconnect.org/] at Pleasant Valley Church of Christ (Little Rock, AR) on February 10, 2025. All lessons fit under one of 6 broad categories: Begin, Instill, Discover, Grow, Learn, and Serve. This sermon is filed under LEARN: Introduction to Theology [https://nathanguy.com/sermons/?sermon_topics=learn-theology]. Click here if you would like to watch the sermon or read a transcript. [https://nathanguy.com/sermons/ethics-human-dignity-and-christian-orthodoxy/] Podcast Notes (resources used or referenced): * The "more beautiful song" illustration (connecting Homer and Orpheus) comes from Martin Luther King's 1964 Nobel Lecture. [https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/lecture/] * "We need a good story": David Martin, Christian Language in the Secular City [https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Language-Secular-Routledge-Revivals/dp/1138733830/] (2002). * Nathan Guy, "Jesus Made Your Moral World [https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/jesus-made-moral-world/]," TGC 2024. * A summary of Keller's speech at the Gospel & Our Cities Conference can be found here [https://www.cfcsh.org/content.cfm?id=151&blog_id=4096 ]. See also Larry Hurtado, Destroyer of the Gods [https://www.amazon.com/Destroyer-gods-Early-Christian-Distinctiveness/dp/1481304747/]. * Nathan Guy, "The New Christian Era [https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/09/christianity-biggest-skeptics-becoming-vocal-converts/]," Christianity Today 2024. * Louise Perry, The Case Against The Sexual Revolution [https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-Sexual-Revolution/dp/1509549994/]. * Brad East, "COC-Catholic, not Evangelical. [https://www.bradeast.org/blog/coc-catholic]" * Allen Gardiner illustration can be found here [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Francis_Gardiner]. * Song, "I Raise A Hallelujah [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awkO61T6i0k&ab_channel=BethelMusic]" (Bethel Music). I'd love to connect with you! * Watch sermons and find transcripts at nathanguy.com [https://nathanguy.com/]. * Follow along each Sunday through YouTube livestream [https://www.youtube.com/c/WestSideChurchofChristSearcy] and find a study guide on the sermon notes page [https://nathanguy.com/sermon-notes]. * Follow me @nathanpguy (facebook [https://www.facebook.com/nathan.guy.7965]/instagram [https://instagram.com/nathanpguy]/twitter [https://twitter.com/nathanpguy]) * Subscribe to my email newsletter on substack [https://nathanguy.substack.com/].