Sermon Rewind 8/26/12 - Least Of These

Matthew 25:31-46

New International Version (NIV)

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Peter Park starts the Image series, with a passage from Matthew 25. The parable of the sheep and goats is about loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself, as Christ honors those who saw the "least of these" in their world, and looked after them. They are the ones who showed Christ in action.  One of the "least of these" in today's modern, politically charged times are immigrants, whether or not they are legal. It is a series where we are to trust God in understanding His heart in reaching out to the undocumented immigrants, and how to put His image of them first - above our prejudices.

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Sermon Rewind 8/19/12 - The Road Less Traveled

Philippians 2:3-8

New International Version (NIV)

³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God, 
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing 
    by taking the very nature of a servant, 
    being made in human likeness. 
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death —
        even death on a cross!

Benjie Kim brought home the Soul Talk series by urging us to seek humility. He cited C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity in clarifying our understanding of pride, which is not simply the desire for success, but the desire to be more successful than someone else. He talked of finding humility on "the road less traveled," which is seeking out our hidden pride in the areas that we least want to find it. He shared of finding humility on this road when he came to a point where he felt he had "nothing left but Jesus."  He also encouraged us to be willing to be "the first to the bottom of the pile" (listen to the sermon online for the story), a place of little dignity, but great desire.

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Sermon Rewind 7/8/12 - Desperate For God

Genesis 45:1-2

New International Version (NIV)Joseph Makes Himself Known45 Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone leave my presence!” So there was no one with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

Philippians 4:4-9

New International Version (NIV)
Final Exhortations
⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

 

Abe Park shared the dramatic story of the birth of his daughter. drawing a parallel to joseph's confrontation with his brothers in egypt, he noted how it is easy to call out to God when times are desparate, but even easier to forget to be desparate for God when we are comfortable.  we do well to seek God when we experience pain, fear, uncertainty, or lostness, but even better to remember to lean on Him at all times.

by Chris Cheung

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Sermon Rewind 7/1/12 - Life As A Catalyst

Hebrews 11:13-16

New International Version (NIV)

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

Charles Lee shared on what it means to live a catalytical life. Nobody wants to just live the status quo - we want our lives to be meaningful. In the Bible, David was such a man, and also surrounded by men that brought about change for the Israelites. What they all had in common was their origins as misfits - they were distressed, indebted, discontented people. But despite their circumstances, they had the same outlook - they wanted their actions to affect eternity. God often uses unlikely misfits to do his greatest works. As God’s misfits, we need to come to terms with who we are, embrace our lives and identity in Christ and choose to live forward. As we evaluate life through the lens of eternity, we learn to work not just as leaders but also under submission or duress.

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Sermon Rewind 6/24/12 - Praying For The Holy Spirit

Galatians 5:16-25

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever^[a] you want. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Peter Park continued the Pneuma series with a message from Galatians 5:16-25, on what it means to be a Christian, and to struggle with sins. We repeat sins because "I am" doing it without relying on the Holy Spirit. We are not living with the full potential of the Holy Spirit because we do not fully understand. The Holy Spirit is not an "it" but the 3rd person of the Trinity who lives within us. Change nothing, nothing changes. Spiritual highs are supposed to be for showing us a glimpse. Without a daily relationship with the Holy Spirit, we revert back to the old self. By knowing God, the by products are the Fruit of the Spirit. The relationship with the Holy Spirit points us back to Jesus. He constantly reminds us. The Holy Spirit within me draws us to the Fruit of the Spirit. When the Holy Spirit points us to Jesus then we point others to Jesus.



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Sermon Rewind 6/15/12 - Father's Day

On Father's Day, Ed Salas came to speak about the need of fathers in today's society, where fathers are hard to find in a society that has pushed entertainment above responsibilities. Christ calls us to be spiritual fathers - those who will lead the boys to Christ. He will bring His dreams to you, affirmation and love to you. This is what a real father is about.

by Ed Chu

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Sermon Rewind 6/10/2012 - Born of The Spirit

John 3:5-8

New International Version (NIV)

5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[a] gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[b] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[c]

 

Benjie Kim continued the Pneuma series stressing the importance of being born of the Holy Spirit.  Nicodemus (much like us) came to Jesus knowing much in his head, but believing little in his heart.  The Holy Spirit tells us that we belong to God, shows us that He loves us without limits, and teaches us to find delight in recognizing God's voice.  The Spirit also gives us power have a life "flip turned upside down."

by Chris Cheung

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