Sermon Rewind 4/24/11

Wonder.Full God

Psalm 139:1-18 (New International Version, ©2011)

Psalm 139
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1 You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.


Newsong NOC celebrated this past Easter Sunday and God’s epic love story through song, dance, videos, and good food. Pastor Peter reminded us how God is so powerful, yet so personal. We were each lovingly handmade by Him, and He continuously pursues us so that we can be with Him forever. Though we may be separated by our sin or unwillingness, God never gives up. His ultimate plan to return us to Him was completed that fateful day 2000 years ago through Jesus’ death on the cross. Through it He proves His power over death and the ability to give eternal life! He is risen! Amen!

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Sermon Rewind - 4/17/2011 - Ruth: Receive Like the Beggar

Benjie Kim ends the Benchwarmers series with his take on Ruth. She was from the hated land of Moab and yet God still used her to demonstrate the beauty and wonder of hesed - an extraordinary act of kindness, love, and self-giving. Our calling as followers of Christ is to not only demonstrate hesed, but to also take on the posture of the beggar - in order to receive God's love with openness and humility.

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Sermon Rewind - 4/10/2011 - Thomas - From Doubting Benchwarmer to Sacrificial Starter

John 11:5-16 (New International Version, ©2011)

⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, ⁷ and then he said to his disciples,“Let us go back to Judea.”

⁸ “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews there tried to stone you, and yet you are going back?”

⁹ Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light. ¹⁰ It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.”

¹¹ After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.”

¹² His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” ¹³ Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

¹⁴ So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, ¹⁵ and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

¹⁶ Then Thomas (also known as Didymus^[a]) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Alex Wu continued the Benchwarmer series with a sermon on "Doubting" Thomas, a man labeled because of his actions of disbelief after the resurrection of Jesus. John 11:5-16 sheds light on a new label for Thomas, "Bold Sacrificer". Alex shared two things we can take from Thomas. The first thing is, it's okay to doubt a little. Doubt is the crossroad that can bring us to a place where our faith is strengthened. The second thing is, be willing to sacrifice. Thomas was bold and willing to follow Jesus, even at the cost of his life. Where do you see God leading you? Be open to the will of God.

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Sermon rewind 3/27/2011 - Naaman - An Everyday Hero

Cindy Park continued the Benchwarmers series with her message - the healing of Naaman - from 2 Kings 5. Naaman went to Elisha, expecting to meet him and be instantly healed. Naaman expected a heroic cure, however, was instead asked to simply wash himself in the Jordan River. Fortunately, Naaman's servants challenged him to put aside his pride and disappointment and obey Elisha's instructions.

We are not always asked to do dramatic, heroic things, but rather humbly obey and submit to God's call on our lives, even if the daily tasks seem ordinary. We're called to be faithful with the time and resources He's given us, and to engage with the people He's put in our lives. The everyday tasks in our lives may not feel heroic, but we need to trust in God's sovereign plans, knowing that in our obedience, we get to part of His epic story.

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Our Children Project

By Sarah Salcido

After returning from a vision trip this past summer, the Lord placed a desire in my heart to invest time into developing relationships with others who have been marginalized in our society. Our vision team met a group of individuals in the Philippines who are involved in a ministry that goes into an impoverished area week after week. This ministry simply loves on people by listening to their stories and praying for their needs; I was in awe of their dedication and the amount of time they give to others. In the way that the Lord is relentless in His pursuit of us, I saw a glimpse of how we as Christ followers can be the hands and feet of Jesus by pursing meaningful relationships with others who may feel unseen.

When I returned home from our vision trip, I started praying for an opportunity to get involved in our own community and I became aware of Our Children Project. This ministry involves spending time with children who live in a group home due to immigration detention. Through this ministry I have gotten to know the stories of the girls that live there and have learned more about issues related to immigration. Immigration can be a controversial topic, but this ministry has allowed me to gain a better understanding of how God sees and loves these children at the group home: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart” (Zechariah 7:9-10). The opportunity to get to know the girls at the group home has drawn me closer to God’s heart and the things that matter to Him. I came into Our Children Project hoping to bless others and in return I have been changed.

Our Children Project will be launching new volunteer teams in April! There are opportunities to volunteer with girls or boys. If the Lord has placed a desire in your heart to love others in a tangible way and are interested in being apart of this transformational ministry you can attend a training this Saturday, April 2nd from 10:00am-12:00 pm. I know you will be blessed! For more information you can contact Bethany Anderson at bethanyanderson@solidarityrising.org

Saturday, April 2nd 10:00am-12:00pm
Crittenton Offices
801 E. Chapman, Ste. 203 Fullerton, CA 92831
Light refreshments will be served

To RSVP for the above training, please contact Bethany.

Be Changed: Women's Retreat Reflection

By Lora Kim

When I was deciding whether to attend the NOC women’s retreat, a voice inside me groaned at the idea of spending (even a day and a half!) with women who I did not know intimately. When I was growing up, I was always into sports and video games, and felt closer to my male friends. Guys were easy to get along with, whereas girls were petty, competitive and cliquey. I am a pretty friendly person, but I always guarded the most intimate details of my life fiercely, especially with other females.

Of course, as I blossomed into a young lady, things got very complicated with close male friendships. Also, I started to become more comfortable in my own skin and although I still enjoyed doing “guy” things, I embraced my girlie side. I realized all those things I disdained about girls were my own insecurities coming to the surface. Not being pretty enough, thin enough, popular enough, but most important – feeling like my worth needed to be justified by a male’s attention. This stemmed from different hurtful events that have occurred over the years. I felt for a long time that I was alone in my struggle, and that no one understood how I felt. At the retreat, Kate (our speaker) told us that God wanted us to know that He loved us. He wanted us to know that He saw us in our struggles, hurt, addictions, temptations, and blatant disobedience and still loved us. I felt camaraderie with my sisters, knowing that we all had different struggles, but the same loving Father. For the first time, I did not feel alone in my journey. Kate’s words were a great reminder to me in my current season.

Last year, I left my job in February. This was a huge blow to my self-esteem because I was in a situation where I felt wronged. I was being pushed to leave by the company due to a sexual harassment complaint made on my behalf. I was told I could move to a location with a very difficult commute, or find another job. I felt cornered and made the decision to leave. Shortly thereafter, I hit rock bottom. I felt utterly defeated, worth nothing, and my confidence was obliterated. I had been sporadically attending church, but I fooled myself into believing I was doing just fine on my own without God’s help. It was this prideful thinking that led me to such a hard fall. The following five months were very difficult, but also the most wonderful.

I told God, “I have nothing left, do what you want with me, and change me how you want. I will obey, I will follow.” And God answered. What happened next was the biggest breaking of my soul, heart, and mind that I have ever gone through. God brought to surface so many issues I had conveniently swept under the rug and forgot about. This was a harsh reality, but I THANK GOD for His faithfulness for answering my desperate prayer, because He changed me for the better. After the breaking down, there was light and renewal, joy, and so much love. I would have previously thought feeling joy in every cell in my body would be impossible, but God did it and it changed my life.

I did get a job in June, which I lost in February of this year. In all honesty, I was not surprised. God provided me this job to show me that He is truly the one in control of my life. I knew it was not a long term job for me, but I was just so thankful for getting it. When I was praying for 2011, God really impressed upon me that this year would be a year of change, and I would need to open my heart to all of it. I agreed thoughtlessly, not realizing the scope of what God was saying. That is, until I lost my job. Two months before that, a few days before Christmas, I got into a big car accident. The other driver ran a red light and slammed into the front of my car. It was a total loss, but I only suffered soft tissue injuries. God saved my life that night. What’s remarkable is that twelve years before that, when I was 17, I was in another car accident a few days before Christmas, which resulted in my car bursting into flames and burning to the ground. My cousin was in my car at that time, and there is no doubt in my mind that God saved us both that day.

I also have no doubt that God juxtaposed these two events at two very different times in my life to remind me of how faithful He is, how much He loves me, and especially how much God has redeemed, healed, and changed me. This year, instead of spiraling into the depths of despair, I praised God. I knew that His timing is perfect, and He has a plan for me. However, I am unfortunately imperfect. As the days went by, I became discouraged. I was not hearing anything from Him about what to do next, and not seeing any signs. I trusted that God was in control, but was getting antsy. At the women’s retreat, Kate gave a sermon on whether we see God as “Useful” or “Sovereign.” If you see God as Useful, you ask him, “What do you want me to do”, but if you see him as a Sovereign God, you ask, “What do you want to do WITH me?” This hit me like a ton of bricks. I realized that everything that God allowed me to go through changed me dramatically, but that He is not finished with me yet. During the prayer time, I prayed, “God, change me how you still need to change me. Give me peace in knowing I don’t need to DO anything for You, but help me to be receptive to your changes In me.” It was like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I have never been good with silence and solitude, but during the retreat, I found it. In the silence, I found that God’s voice was louder than I had ever heard before, and He told me that He was proud of me. I pray that you too can find His voice in the silence, and hear what He so desperately wants to tell you too.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to get to know some amazing women during the short precious time we had together. I am thankful for God meeting me in such an unexpected way. I am thankful for the safe space that the planning team provided to share and listen to the wonderful things that God is doing in the women at NOC. I am thankful to be part of this glorious community. I am so very thankful to know that I am not on this journey alone, but have many beautiful sisters journeying with me. I AM THANKFUL!

Joseph - Keeping The Faith

Genesis 45:4 - 7
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me.” When they had done so, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! 5 And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you. 6 For two years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will be no plowing and reaping. 7 But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.


Have you ever felt inadequate, inferior, or stuck in a moment you can’t get out of? Pastor Peter introduces us to one of the first “Benchwarmers” of the Bible – people with flaws and dire circumstances whom God still used to play significant roles in His epic story of redemption. Joseph was the youngest of his family - pampered, and an arrogant braggart. Over the course of his life he was sold off as a slave, framed an adulterer, and then spent many years in jail. Rather than bemoaning his situation, Joseph responded gracefully and made the best of it, trusting that God was with him always. Through this time, Joseph learned of courage, humbleness, and unyielding faith. In the end, Joseph rose to power, and through his experiences, helped save many around Egypt. Let us do the same and focus on WHAT we can do rather than WHY!

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