United Methodist Church Westlake Village
Audio of Pastor Darren Cowdrey's weekly message, as we work together toward fulfilling our mission statement: "Setting a Course for a Better Life."
Live-streamed weekly from our campus in Westlake Village, CA. Video of this entire worship service is available for viewing or listening on our home page at http://www.umcwv.org for approximately 3 weeks, and then also available on our YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/4hFmuBZ
All songs used in compliance with our CCLI and streaming licenses.Copyright License # 1291056Streaming License #CSPL075029
If you'd like to support our ministries, please follow this link:
https://give.tithe.ly/?formId=6fe0e233-47e0-4a4b-8d21-f21ad5e75db8
Episodes
474 episodes
From "I Am a Rock" to "We Are Family": A Spiritual Journey
Have you ever found yourself proudly declaring, "God and I are good on our own" only to discover the painful limitations of spiritual isolation? This soul-stirring journey explores the transformation from fierce independence to the healing embr...
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18:51
Finding God Within
We explore Jeremiah's prophetic journey as a young boy called to deliver difficult messages during Israel's national crisis, drawing parallels to today's graduates facing uncertain futures. God's affirmation that he equipped Jeremiah despite hi...
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7:52
Holy Diversity: The Body Needs All Its Parts
What does it mean to truly embrace diversity within Christianity? John Wesley, Methodism's founder, offered a revolutionary answer in his sermon "On the Catholic Spirit" that still challenges us today.Against the backdrop of post-Reform...
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20:15
Blessed Through Struggle
John Wesley's vision of social justice provides a framework for understanding Jesus's teachings in the Beatitudes and challenges us to transform personal faith into active compassion.• Social justice defined as the belief in equal right...
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20:32
Unconditional Love: Grace in Motherhood and Faith
What does a mother's love on Mother's Day reveal about divine grace? Drawing this powerful parallel, today's episode explores grace as unconditional love that finds us even when we're struggling with our own imperfections.Looking at cul...
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24:26
Singing, Storms, and a Strangely Warmed Heart: The Journey of John Wesley
John Wesley's disciplined approach to faith created a movement that continues to influence millions of Christians worldwide today. His journey from Oxford professor to founder of Methodism reveals how personal faith experience shaped an entire ...
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20:52
Stewardship in a Broken World: Finding Hope After Easter
What's a pastor to preach after Easter? With Earth Day approaching, the answer seemed obvious – celebrate God's gift of creation during this feasting season. But any honest environmental sermon must confront an uncomfortable truth: we haven't b...
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26:22
Finding Jesus in the Garden: How Easter Invites Us Back to Eden
What does a gardener have to do with Easter? Everything, as it turns out. Moving beyond the familiar imagery of empty tombs and stone rolled away, we explore how John's gospel subtly portrays the risen Christ as a gardener – a profound theologi...
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8:22
Gardens of Redemption: Where God and Humanity Meet
Gardens hold a sacred place in our spiritual journey - they're where humanity first walked with God, where Jesus prayed before his sacrifice, and where Revelation promises we'll return to paradise. In this powerful culmination of our Les Misera...
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22:50
What Should Christians Do When We Disagree With Each Other?
We explore the challenge of loving our enemies through the lens of Les Misérables, wrestling with how Christians can fight injustice while still loving those who oppose us. Jesus' radical command to love enemies confronts us with perhaps our mo...
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22:38
The Heart of Les Misérables Shows Us What True Love Requires
The bright spot in our Lenten journey through Les Misérables has arrived as we explore God's gift of love through the romantic relationship between Cosette and Marius. Their love story unfolds against a backdrop of revolution and upheaval, offe...
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29:04
The Unnamed Antagonists
The unnamed antagonists in our lives—systemic forces like poverty, racism, corruption, and trauma—shape our stories in ways we often fail to recognize. Drawing from personal experiences fostering rescue dogs, teaching high school students, and ...
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21:57
Wrestling with Grace: Les Misérables and the Balance of Justice
The tension between justice and mercy creates one of life's most profound spiritual dilemmas. Through the character of Inspector Javert from Les Misérables, we explore what happens when justice becomes divorced from mercy, and a system of rules...
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26:22
Grace Well Received: Exploring Les Misérables' Spiritual Foundations
Grace transforms even the most broken souls, but only if we dare to believe we're worthy of it. This powerful truth emerges as we begin our Lenten journey through Victor Hugo's masterpiece, Les Misérables, examining how theological concepts man...
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25:35
Awakened by Faith: The Transfiguration Journey
Are there moments in your life where you felt a divine presence? Join us as we explore the power of recognition through personal stories and biblical narratives that resonate with our experiences today. From brushes with greatness involving cel...
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15:04
Power in Vulnerability and Community
The episode delves into the challenging teachings of Jesus from the Sermon on the Plain, highlighting the complexities of loving one's enemies and the struggle between instinctual responses and the call to resilience through love. It explores t...
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20:56
Setting Course: Getting Outside Our Walls
Audio of Pastor Darren's message from 2/16/25, "Setting Course: Getting Outside Our Walls."
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22:11
Setting Course: Leave Everything and Follow
Audio of Pastor Darren's message on 2/9/25: "Setting Course: Leave Everything and Follow."
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19:33
A Better Life: Getting Inside and Outside
Audio of Pastor Darren's message on 2/2/25, "A Better Life: Getting Inside and Outside."
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19:10
The Better Life: Why This?
Audio of Pastor Darren's message on 1/26/25, "The Better Life: Why This?"
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24:41
Sunday, December 22, 2024 - 10am Worship
Audio of Pastor Darren's message on 12/22/24, "Promise."
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17:43
