Sermon Rewind 9/18/11 – Abba, I Belong to You

Mark 14:32-36 New International Version (NIV)

Gethsemane

³² They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” ³³ He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ³⁴ “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

³⁵ Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. ³⁶ “Abba,^[a^] Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

Benjie Kim continued the WITH series with a sermon on what it looks like to have an intimate relationship with God. He shared from Mark 14:32-36, when Jesus prayed in Gethsemane because he was deeply distressed and troubled, and his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow. God calls us to have two traits to overcoming the darkest times in our lives: (1) having an authentic relationship with proper community and practicing complete transparency is essential. We are called to share the depths of our souls to the people in our lives that can walk with us and guide us. (2) having a relationship with with God that reflects Abba (daddy, papa, my own dear father). Our relationship with God ought to reflect a very intimate relationship between father and son/daughter. Healthy solitude is the opposite of escape. Take time in your life to have our hands open to claim and pray, “Abba, I belong to you.”

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Sermon Rewind 9/11/11 - Abiding In Jesus

John 15:5
New International Version (NIV)
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.


Pastor Peter began a new sermon series on what it means to be just “WITH” God. God is usually a priority in our lives, but how often is He THE priority? We often ask and receive things from God, or do things for God, but do we ever just BE with God? In John 15:5, Jesus warns that abiding in Him is a matter of life and death. We are dependent on Jesus for life, and can only grow as a result of being connected to Him. Growing is a result of simply being in communion with God, not something we must do. Do we have a yearning to be with God as an end in itself rather than just as a means for comfort and provision? In the coming weeks, NOC will explore ways to just be WITH God.

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Sermon Rewind 9/4/11 - Reliance on God

1 Chronicles 21:1 - 8

David Counts the Fighting Men

1 Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.”
3 But Joab replied, “May the LORD multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”

4 The king’s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. 5 Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.

6 But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king’s command was repulsive to him. 7 This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.

8 Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”


Cindy Park wrapped up Soul Talk, with her message from 1 Chronicles 21:1-8 about King David's prideful self reliance. When David took a census of soldiers in Israel, he did so to find security in that number rather than in God. He gave in to the enemy's lies, and found his confidence apart from God. Do we truly rely on God, trusting He can carry our burdens or do we deceive ourselves into thinking WE are the ones in control, foolishly carrying our burdens alone?

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