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

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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

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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.


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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.


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A Spirit-Led Life

John 3:8, New International Version (NIV)

"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."

Dave Brubaker shared one of his favorite Bible verses, John 3:8, a description the Spirit-led life.  It's exciting to see how Newsong NOC is living this out; just look at the retreat this past year, when people waited in line for 3-4 hours to be prayed over by Pastor Dave Gibbons.

What does the Spirit-led life look like?  Two indicators are that we are "out of control, and falling in love." He referenced three Tom Hanks movies that model this kind of living:

(1) "Castaway", a picture of the out of control life.  "Out of control" sometimes sounds like a negative, but it brings us out of comfort and makes us nervous, which can help us grow.  When we are

desperate, we rely on prayer.  

(2) "Sleepless in Seattle", a picture of falling in love, and having eyes of love.  Are you walking around

the world looking with love, and constantly seeing beauty in people?

(3) "Forrest Gump", Forrest was the master of John 3:8.  Like the white feather in the movie, he lived the out of control life, as he went from one thing to another.  Do you have that level of trust when you are out of control?  Plus he showed us a life of falling in love, even when that love wasn't reciprocated.  Ultimately the goal is not just to imitate Tom Hanks, but God himself, who showed his out of control, falling in love heart in John 3:16, giving up everything to be with us.

by Arnold Wang

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Sermon Rewind 10/7/12 - The Last 10%

Luke 15:11-32

New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Lost Son

¹¹ Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴ After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶ He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸ I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

²⁸ “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

³¹ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Cindy Park continued the Misfit series on the core value of conflict resolution, or "the last 10%," meaning we intentionally engage in conversation with someone who has hurt or offended us, with a posture of grace and seeking to understand the other person so that we can have real and authentic interactions. The parable of the prodigal son from Luke 15:11-32, exemplified how our heavenly Father is all about restoration, while we want restitution. Grace is never fair. The truth of God's grace is that it's unmerited and undeserved. Our relationships with one another need to fully reflect God's same grace for us. As a community of misfits, when we show grace to others and grace is extended to us when we sin, restoration takes place. Restored relationships bring freedom and joy. Then we can be an authentic church where people are drawn to us and ultimately to Jesus.

by Arnold Wang

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Sermon Rewind 9/30/12 - Costly Grace

Titus 2:1-11

What Must Be Taught to Various Groups

1 You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. 2 Teach the older men to be temperate,worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. 3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. 6 Similarly, encourage the young mento be self-controlled. 7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8 and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us. 9 Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them,10 and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive. 11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.



What makes Christianity different from other religions? The central doctrine of Grace. Everything about Jesus is infused with it. But what kind of grace do we believe in? Some live as if it is a cheap grace where the account has been paid for with nothing required in return. Technically true, but this kind of thinking easily allows us to sin because in the end, nothing we do really matters. We must realize that God really gave us a costly grace - the sacrificing of his son on our behalf. We were bought at a price, and the anger and injustice of humanity’s sin was taken out on a single life. When we realize truly what grace cost us and God, and experience its truth, it should overwhelm us. It changes us, as we repent and strive to love and live our lives as a second chance.

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