Sermon Rewind 1/13/13 - Wrestling With God

Genesis 32:22-31

New International Version (NIV)

Jacob Wrestles With God

²² That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³ After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. ²⁵ When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,^[a] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

³⁰ So Jacob called the place Peniel,^[b] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

³¹ The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,^[c] and he was limping because of his hip.

Benjie Kim shared about ‘encountering God in the midst of ugliness’ from his reflections during a recent vision trip to Thailand. Despite being a deceiver and a liar, Jacob encountered God in Genesis 32:22-31. An encounter with God does not require (a formula for) us to remove our idols. An encounter with God requires us to confront our past; to understand that all we really want in life is blessings; and to embrace your limp. Jacob wrestled with God all night long, and was taken to all the places he doesn't want to go. He gave you your pain and weakness to embrace and empower. God’s blessings communicate He sees you, He loves you, and He has your back. We are all created to receive a blessing from God. It's about our Lord Jesus Christ becoming weak first to save us.

by Arnold Wang

Listen to this sermon and others online! 
http://noc.newsong.net/grow/resources/message-archives

Sermon Rewind 1/6/13 - Being Thankful

Cindy Park spoke last Sunday about starting the new year with an mindset and heart of gratitude, living in the present and giving thanks for even the smallest things in life. There is nothing wrong in planning for tomorrow, but we cannot be consumed with it. Neither should we be worried about what tomorrow will bring.  Whether we live in the worry of tomorrow or the fantasy of tomorrow, both take us away from today.  We are to be grateful for what we have now. God the Father is not limited by what we do not have, just as when He was able to feed the five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish.

We are to pause and think on what God has given to us. Just as Jesus trusted the Father, we are called to trust Him, in all things. We are to follow Christ, trust Christ, in this moment, beyond our pains and doubts.



by Ed Chu

Listen to this sermon and others online! 
http://noc.newsong.net/grow/resources/message-archives

Sermon Rewind 12/30/12 - Seeking The Presence Of God

Exodus 3:1-12
Moses and the Burning Bush
When we do, we will find out three things: What God cares about, what He is doing about it, and how you can be involved. We can spend time with God by purposefully making time in our schedule, engaging in practices (prayer, silence and solitude, etc.), and being involved with our community.

New International Version (NIV)

3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.² There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. ³ So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

⁴ When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush,“Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
⁵ “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ Then he said, “I am the God of your father,^[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
⁷ The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. ⁸ So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁹ And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. ¹⁰ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
¹¹ But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
¹² And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you^[b] will worship God on this mountain.”

As we begin a new year, Tommy Nixon shared what he felt should be our most important to focus in 2013 - to seek to be in the presence of God. Moses’ first encounter with God is recounted in Exodus 3:1-12 in the form of a burning bush. Moses was so close to the presence of God but he didn't even know it. But when he decided to finally move in, God spoke to Him and promised deliverance. God similarly wants to be with us and we need to enter into his presence.


Listen to this sermon and others online! 
http://noc.newsong.net/grow/resources/message-archives

Sermon Rewind 12/23/12 - The Reason For The Season

Luke 2:8-15 
    

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Saviorhas been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

Newsong NOC celebrated Christmas as a family, with a service BROUGHT together by all ages. Every year, we celebrate Jesus because he did something incredible, all because of love. He came down from Heaven because He loves us so much that He wanted to be with us and build a direct relationship with us. He didn’t wait for us to become perfect so that we could be good enough for Him, but instead chose to come down in a scandalous, messy situation so that He could be good enough for us. May the lights and gifts this Christmas season remind us of the true Light and greatest Christmas present ever - Jesus.


Listen to this sermon and others online! 
http://noc.newsong.net/grow/resources/message-archives