Sermon Rewind 4/15/12 - Encounter with Jesus

Acts 9:3-22

New International Version (NIV)

3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

   “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

 10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

   “Yes, Lord,” he answered.

 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem

    Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

Peter Park continued the Impossible Series with a message on the transformation of Saul through an encounter with Jesus and Ananias in Acts 9:3-22. Saul was self-righteous, self-reliant and pure evil, but when he encountered Jesus, he became blinded and reliant on others to lead him. Ananias was given the opportunity to heal Saul. Leading someone to Jesus is less about a sales pitch and more of an encounter with Jesus. We earn the right to share about Jesus by loving without strings. Are you willing to pray the prayer and be available to join in the pain and suffering of our loved ones who do not have a relationship with Jesus (if pain is what it takes for Jesus to get their attention)?

Listen to this sermon and others online!

http://noc.newsong.net/grow/resources/message-archives

Sermon Rewind 4/1/12 - Love One Another

John 13:31-35
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

31 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him,[a] God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. 33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”



Alex Wu continued the Ekklesia series with Jesus’ farewell discourse from John 13:31-35. Three themes can be found in this passage: glorification, His departure, and love. In discussing love, Jesus introduces a new commandment for His disciples and us to follow. He asks us to love each other not as we would ourselves, but as He did – in humility and as humble servants. This is the only way people will know we are His followers. We often are unable to follow this commandment because we fail to practice it enough, and because we are selfish and expect a return on investment. Thus, we tend to focus our love on the lovable. But God calls us to have a Kingdom perspective – when we love someone who doesn’t love us, we are pleasing the Father. We can practice agape love by becoming listeners, and starting with those in our community.

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

Sermon Rewind 3/25/12 - Open Doors

Acts 16:16 - 35
New International Version (NIV)

Paul and Silas in Prison

16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.

35 When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.” 36 The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”



Benjie Kim continues the Ekklesia series last Sunday with his message from Acts 16 and "open doors." What do they mean? When God opens doors in our lives, they should always lead to His glory, alone - not our comfort. When Paul and Silas were freed from prison, they could have just escaped with all the prisoners and let the jailer kill himself. Instead, Paul led the jailer, and eventually his family, to Christ.

The Spirit guided the early church's decisions - and this church was eager to share the good news to everyone, even if it meant death.

Will we pray for a safe life or a life that allows a risk, in the name of Christ, even when our comfort is threatened or even taken away?

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

Sermon Rewind 3/18/12 - An Authentic Church

Acts 5:1-11
New International Version (NIV)

Ananias and Sapphira

1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”
“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”
9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.



Pastor Peter continued the Ekklesia series, extrapolating from Acts 5:1 – 11. The passage sheds light on the first sin to take place in the growing church. Ananias and his wife Sapphira conspired to withhold money from the church and lied to the Apostles about it, and promptly died when they maintained their innocence. Scenarios similar to this one occur in other parts of the Bible – in each case there is coveting and hiding, followed by death. God is harsh with deception because it is destructive and divisive – the exact opposite of his goal to unite all of us as one. Gossiping, talking behind others’ backs, and not confronting are some of the easiest ways to divide. These actions never fix situations. We need to confront and be authentic to build and fix the church. We should call out gossip and encourage direct communication to solve conflicts. Deception divides. Authenticity unites.

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

Sermon Rewind 2/12/12 - Biblical Marriage

Ephesians 5:21-33
New International Version (NIV)
Instructions for Christian Households
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing[a] her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”[b] 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Peter Park concluded the Detox series explaining what a true biblical marriage looks like.
Reading from Ephesians 5:21-33, we see two prevailing themes - our unity in Christ, and our unity to each other under Christ. A thriving marriage happens when both partners understand and live out the greater call of following Christ. The way that we treat one another in marriage should be a reflection of our reverence to Christ. In the way that the Church is called to submit to Christ, so should the wife voluntarily submit out of love and obedience to Jesus and her husband.
The role of the husband is to love and be sacrificial and selfless. He needs to lead the marriage so that the wife will willingly follow. Relying and spending time with Jesus is the only way to be reminded of and filled with an overflow of Christ love to love his wife.
Most importantly, the marriage should point to Christ. For all of us, our lives should be lived out to love everyone so that the world knows we are disciples of Christ.


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

Sermon rewind 2012.2.5 - Singleness

Cindy Park continued the Detox series with her message from 1 Corinthians 7, about the biblical perspective on singleness. Paul wrote that being single has definite advantages and is to be valued. The freedom and flexibility of singlehood allows singleminded focus for serving God. Paul celebrates this freedom and reminds singles that they can be even more effective than married people for God's kingdom. Single, dating, or married, we are all called to model Christ to this world, beginning with a deep, authentic relationship with Him, then responding in gratitude and worship for the unique skills and opportunities He has given to us. Our lives are short and with that short amount of time, we're called to draw as many people as we can to Christ.

Sermon Rewind 1/29/12 -" Biblical Sexuality"

Proverbs 5:18-19
New International Version (NIV)

18 May your fountain be blessed,
and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
19 A loving doe, a graceful deer—
may her breasts satisfy you always,
may you ever be intoxicated with her love.


Pastor Peter Detoxed sexuality today. Though sex is intended for both procreation and pleasure, churches often just ignore or suppress discussions about it. One reason for this is that we do not distinguish between "desire", which is a healthy longing for relationship, and "lust", which is a an overpowering longing that enslaves. Ultimately, even sex is unfulfilling because we cannot be completely fulfilled outside of being in God's presence in heaven. Until then, we need relationship with Jesus and the supportive partnership of Christian community to avoid desires from becoming lusts.

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